Orphanage
by Kieno0324
Summary: Mai's old orphanage is experiencing problems, of the supernatural type. The owner of the orphanage is able to convince SPR to investigate what's going on. But the real question is...why is Naru having to solve this case without Mai?NaruMai Rated for safet
1. Chapter 1

I'm back!!!! This idea comes from raijutei-no-babylon, I thank you so much!! Author bows! I read the outline you gave me and I thought it was great! So this chapter (and story) is dedicated to you! I got a lot of replies to my plea for help and I loved all the ideas you guys sent in! If I had enough time I would write all of them! But alas, I'm one writer! I will be using more of the ideas though and I will put a dedication to the person who gave me that idea at the beginning of that particular story. I'm going to shut up now and let you read. And please review!

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Chapter 1

"Yes, Mrs. Martia. Of course you can come in. No, I'll tell him. He can get over it. I'll see you in a few minutes." Mai hung the phone up and allowed herself a small smile. When her mother had died, Mrs. Martia who owned an orphanage let her stay with her and all the other children. Mai had left when she got into high school but she tried to visit the children and Martia every weekend if they weren't on a case.

Martia had called her and Mai had heard the panic in her friend. She had asked and the older woman had asked if she could come over and see if Mai's boss was interested in a new case. Mai had been stunned, Martia had been pressing for her to quit because of all the danger that Mai had been in. Mai hadn't mentioned that she had fallen into a well or the manhole. She didn't want to give the woman a heart attack.

Mai walked over to Naru's office and decided that it would be better if she took him a peace offering. She went to the kitchen and made tea. She waited until the pot whistled and she poured it into his favorite cup, she might as well suck up as much as she could. She knew that Martia would need their help and she didn't want Naru being a smartass like he always was.

"Naru?" Mai knocked on his door as she entered. He looked up from the files that he had been studying. She saw his eyes widen as she had brought tea into his office and she was smiling a little bit brightly. He wondered what she wanted.

"Yes, Mai?" he answered. He watched as she placed the teacup in front of him. He noticed that it was also in the cup that he preferred. His suspicion went up a notch further. She _never_ did things like this. He wondered if she had hit her head but shook it off. She wanted something and he didn't know what it was. Yet.

"Um, I just got a call from a friend of mine. She owns an orphanage about an hour from here and she said that she wanted to come in and talk to us." Mai said and Naru's eyes widened a fraction in understanding before returning to their normal size.

"I see. Mai, just because she's your friend doesn't mean that I'm going to automatically take her case." he warned her and he saw her eyes widen before she glared at him.

"I wasn't suggesting that you did! I was telling you to _behave_ yourself! This woman is the closest the thing I had to a mother after mine passed away." she snapped before she turned and left the office and made sure to slam the door. Naru took a deep breath before letting it out. He'd be nice to the woman, but _not _because Mai asked him to.

* * *

The knock on the door caused Mai to jump as the office had been extremely silent. She quickly went to the door and answered it. She squealed as she saw it was Martia and she hugged the woman tightly before she could even step inside. She heard her 'mother' laugh as she returned the hug.

"It's good to see you as well, Mai." the woman said as Mai finally let her enter the office. Martia had black hair that was graying and warm green eyes that were always smiling. Mai decided that it was Martia's eyes that gained a child's trust.

"Well, Mai…I would like to speak with your boss. I normally wouldn't come here but I believe this case might catch his attention." Martia said and Mai nodded before she disappeared into Naru's office. Martia blinked as she heard heated voices. She put her hand over her mouth as the voices continued to rise before they stopped and Mai and Naru walked out of the office quietly.

"Martia, this is my boss, Shibuya Kazuya. Naru, this is Martia Leland." Mai introduced before she left the room and went to make tea. Martia nodded at Naru and he sat down in his chair.

"Good morning, Mrs. Leland. Mai informed me that you wished to hire us for a case." he said and Martia nodded.

"Yes, she told me that it took quiet a lot to gain your attention for a case. So I wouldn't have come if I knew you wouldn't be interested. I'm sure that she told you that I run an orphanage." she told him and he nodded.

"The children are seeing things that I really can't see. All I know is that things move around on their own and the children swear that they don't move it. I saw these things move as well but I was positive everything would be okay. That was until one of my assistants that works with us at the orphanage was pushed down the stairs." Martia said and Naru blinked and she sighed.

"All the children were at school and I was in the kitchen. She said that no one was around her when she woke up at the hospital. I knew that Mai was working for a Psychic Researcher and she's told me about the cases you've worked on." Martia said as Naru wrote down what she was saying.

"I see, Mrs. Leland. Is there anything else?" he asked before suddenly she pulled out a piece of paper with writing he could understand. That was saying a lot about it. Naru knew almost every language that had been spoken, except Greek. That had been Gene's area.

"I found this in the basement. It doesn't exactly have the friendliest look." Martia said and he examined the paper before frowning suddenly.

"I'll take the case. This isn't a curse but it shows that something is wrong with the orphanage." he said as he put the paper into the file folder that he was putting the information into.

"Thank you, Mr. Shibuya. When will you be arriving?" Martia asked. Naru looked up before he stood up. He wondered where Mai had gotten to. Almost as though she had heard him she was in the room with three teacups and she poured the tea.

"We'll be arriving around noon tomorrow. We will need a base room and two rooms. One room will need three beds while the other needs four beds." he told her before he left with the teacup in his hand. Mai looked at Martia who shrugged as she took a sip.

"I suppose you'll be returning to the orphanage, Mai." Martia said and Mai couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face.

"I can hardly wait! I'll see everyone again!" Mai said excitedly and Martia nodded happily before she stood while saying she had to go get the rooms ready. Mai walked her to the door before smiling as she waved good-bye. She smiled as she shut the door and went back to her desk to finish her filing. She had never realized how excited she would be on one single case.

* * *

"_This_ is where you grew up?!" Ayako cried as they looked at the huge three-story house that Mai had directed the three cars, the SPR van, Takigawa's care, and John's car to. Everyone's eyes, except Naru and Lin, had popped out of their head as they stared at the large house where children were playing outside. There was a loud squeal and Naru whirled around as Mai fell to the ground with an 'oomph'.

"MAI-CHAN! YOU CAME!!" sitting on Mai was a little girl, maybe six, with blonde hair brushing her shoulders that were in pigtails. Her eyes were bright blue and she was currently busy hugging Mai until she had no air left in her lungs.

"Hello, Kaoru!" Mai managed to get out before somehow she stood up with Kaoru on her hip and the young girl clinging to her as she looked at the people surrounding her friend.

"Everyone, this is Kaoru. I baby sit her during the school year because she isn't old enough to go yet and the school lets her shadow me when Martia can't take care of her. Kaoru, remember how I told you I worked for somebody now?" Mai asked and Naru noticed that the little girl was staring at him over Mai's shoulder.

"You mean the 'tea drinking cutie'?" Kaoru chirped and Mai put her hand over Kaoru's mouth and everyone could hear the younger girl's giggles. Mai couldn't even look at Naru with how red her face felt. The others were watching for a reaction from Naru but he gave no outward reflection.

'Tea-drinking cutie?' he thought as he continued to pack the boxes before turning and handing the box to John and Takigawa who followed one of Martia assistants into the orphanage.

Mai could still feel her cheeks flaming. She hugged Kaoru once more before putting the girl down on the ground and the girl ran off and Mai turned to Naru and took the box he handed her and refused to meet his eyes before she turned and scurried into the orphanage.

* * *

"Martia and the older children said that most of the 'ghost incidences' happened in the kitchen, the second floor rooms, and the basement." Mai read from her clipboard and Naru looked up from where he and Lin were hooking up the monitors. "John and Takigawa are setting the cameras up and Martia is giving Masako a walk through."

"And Ayako?" he asked and Mai blinked before shrugging.

"I think she's occupied with the children. They seem to think she looks like a mother figure. I don't know…children can get very attached to people. I suppose she's one of them." Mai said.

"Go stay with her. See if you can find anything else from the children." he ordered and Mai nodded before she put the clipboard down and hopped out of the room cheerfully. Naru stared after her until Lin nudged him with his elbow and he turned back to the monitors.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mai and Ayako were playing t-ball with the children. They usually let the children get them out. By the time the game ended Mai and Ayako were black and blue from being hit by three, four, and five year olds with t-ball mitts.

"They have quite a hit on them." Ayako commented as she and Mai sat with Martia and Masako in the kitchen. They could hear the laughter of the children in the dining hall. Mai took a sip of the tea that Martia had poured her.

"Hey, Masako, did you find anything out?" Ayako asked as she remembered that the medium had been taken on a tour of the orphanage. Masako looked up from her own teacup and shaking her head.

"I didn't sense any spirits. They may be hiding and they may just not exist. I won't be able to know unless they do something else." Masako whispered softly and Mai blinked before she stood up as the laughter got a little to loud. She peeked into the dining hall and burst out laughing as most of the food was on the walls and she turned to look at Martia who chuckled.

"That is one thing that hasn't changed. They like to play. And I still spend most of my time in there cleaning. But life goes on. They're children who have no parents and have to find somewhere to belong in the world." Martia explained and Mai smiled before she gently closed the door and turning to the other three in the kitchen.

"I'm going to go see if Naru needs anymore help!" she said brightly before she left. Ayako saw Martia smile and she looked at her curiously.

"When she was a child, she was so depressed. She came to the orphanage after her mother died. She was so sad…she rarely smile until one day my niece came to visit me. She must have been fifteen and Mai fell in love with her. And my niece took her everywhere and took care of her. Mai promised she would go to college just for my niece and Mai's attitude completely turned around.

"Let's just say I haven't seen her that happy since my niece visited." Martia said as she took a sip.

"Mai has touched all of us, Mrs. Leland. She's a very…pleasant person to be around." Masako said and Ayako looked at her surprised before Masako stood up and left the kitchen quickly. Ayako sighed before hiding her own smile in the teacup. She decided that even though Masako was jealous of Mai she still liked the girl no matter what.

* * *

Naru entered the base after having met some of the 'witnesses' of the paranormal activity. He frowned as he saw that Mai was asleep. He could feel the agitation rising quickly and he clamped a lid down on the anger. He studied the sleeping girl and wondered how she could look so peaceful when in reality she was so hyper she made people tired just by looking at her. He had to stop his hand from going out to brush the bangs out of her closed eyes.

'Stupid girl.' he thought as he turned to look at the monitors. Most of the screens showed that the temperatures were normal. There were a few that were below normal but they didn't catch his attention as they weren't completely unusual. He heard Mai's breath hitch slightly and he turned to look at her as she woke up and he watched as she sat up rubbing her eyes.

"Look who's finally waking up." he snipped and she blinked. Mai could feel her cheeks warm slightly as she realized that Naru had walked in on her sleeping. And the thing was that even though she had slept she hadn't dreamt about him or anything else. She was confused as to why but decided that maybe she was just tired and hadn't realized it when she had volunteered to stay in the base room.

"I'm sorry!! I didn't realize I was tired!" she cried as she jumped up from her seat. She felt like shrinking away when she saw the glare Naru was giving her. She wondered if he knew how to look at someone _without_ glaring. She immediately set to work when he ordered tea, at least that was something she could do that he wouldn't get made at her about.

"Here you go, Naru!" she said brightly as she handed him his tea. She might as well be friendly even though she wanted to kill him.

"Did you dream?" he asked and she groaned before replying. She heard him mutter something and she blinked.

"Huh?" she asked. She would later realize that she really hadn't wanted to know what he had said.

"I said 'useless'. You can't even dream when we need you to. I suggest that you leave this to us if you want us to help your friend. And next time you fall asleep I would appreciate it if you don't do it on _my_ time. Are we clear, Miss Taniyama?" he asked and Mai took a step back as tears began to well. She heard him snort when she didn't reply. "Have you forgotten how to speak?" he asked as he looked over his shoulder to meet her stunned eyes.

"You…you…" Mai turned and ran. She didn't know what else to do. She didn't want to Naru to see her crying because of what he said. She bumped into someone and strong hands steadied her and kept her from hitting the floor. She looked up through her tears and saw that she had run into Lin.

"Taniyama-san?" he asked worriedly before she jerked away from him and she looked up at him with those watering eyes. He wondered if she was hurt and was about to suggest that they go see Martia before she spoke.

"I'm sorry, Lin-san! I'm sorry!" she cried before running off. Mai ran into her room and threw herself onto one of the beds, she wasn't sure who's it was. She thought it was Masako's bed but she didn't really care. She sobbed into the pillow before sleep claimed her once again.

* * *

Mai saw him walking towards her and she ran for him. She heard him grunt in surprise when she wrapped her arms around his waist. She sobbed into his chest, not wanting to let go. Her dream Naru would never call her useless or make fun of her intelligence. Why couldn't the real Naru be like the dream Naru?

"Why can't the real you treat me like this?" she whimpered. She didn't see how he frowned. Gene kept from growling. He shouldn't be surprised that his brother had managed to put her into tears. It seemed to be the one thing he was good at when it came to Mai.

'He doesn't deserve her with the way he treats her. Doesn't he understand that she's a human and has emotions? I wish I could teach him a lesson that he'd never forget!' Gene thought as he held the crying girl in his arms before she stepped back and wiped at her tears. He watched as her fingers brushed her cheeks to wipe the tears away when it hit him. He could teach his brother a lesson.

"Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder." she whispered. She would have felt embarrassed but she decided that since this Naru was a figment of her imagination she could live with it. After all, it had felt nice to be held by Naru and even be comforted by him.

"Don't you get tired of this?" Gene asked and Mai looked up at him before dropping her head. He could see her nod and he sighed. It was way past time to give Naru a lesson. "Stay with me then."

"What?" Mai's head shot up and she looked at Naru with wide disbelieving eyes and he gave her that smile that made her heart melt. "Is that even possible? I thought…I mean isn't this just a dream?" she whispered and he shook his head.

"No…it can be real, if you want. You can stay here with me." Gene knew what the consequences would be. But he decided that he would act like his brother if it made her happy. He was tired of seeing her show up in his world with tears on her face because of his brother. He held his hand out and he saw her eye his contemplatively.

'It's a dream. It can't hurt. And besides…it _would_ be nice to have Naru treat me like a person.' she thought before she gave him a bright smile and reached out and took his hand and she felt him wrap his fingers around her hand. 'I hope I never wake up.' she couldn't help but think.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter 2! I have nothing to say really so I guess you should get on with the reading! Enjoy!

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Chapter 2

Masako had felt tired after dinner and decided to go to bed. She had entered the room and felt exasperated when she saw that Mai was sprawled on her bed. She had wondered where the girl had gotten to. She had even worried when Naru hadn't shown up for dinner either. Lin had said that nothing was wrong and that he thought the two had argued.

Masako went over and shook the brown headed girl. "Taniyama, get up. You can sleep on your bed." Masako said. She sighed as the girl didn't move. Why wouldn't she wake up? Masako wondered if she was in one of her sleeps. She turned Mai over and she shook her even harder but Mai gave no response. Masako frowned. Didn't Mai usually twitch when she slept?

"Hey, Masako! Martia wants to know if you want some cookies." Ayako burst into the room as Masako shook Mai. Masako looked over her shoulder and sighed at the miko.

"Could you see if you can wake Mai up? She's fallen asleep on my bed." Masako said and Ayako blinked. Ayako went over to the other side of the bed and shook the unresponsive girl. Ayako frowned before putting her ear to Mai's mouth and pulling back with a gasp and she stood up in haste and Masako looked at her curiously. Masako studied the shocked look on her friend's face.

"Masako, she isn't breathing! Stay here!" Ayako ran out of the room and Masako looked at Mai stunned. She climbed onto the bed and took hold of Mai's shoulders and began to shake her.

"Mai! Mai, you have to wake-up! Mai!! Listen to me, Mai! I am not going to help you if you die on us!! MAI!" she shook even harder as tears spilled down her cheeks as she continued to try and wake Mai up.

* * *

Naru was staring at the monitors. But he wasn't really seeing what was in front of him. His thought strayed to Mai but he shook his head. He would _not_ think of her. It was her own fault that he had been forced to yell at her. He wasn't paying for her to sleep on the job. He paid her to watch the monitors, to take notes. He growled softly to himself. He was still thinking of her!

'I did what any employer would do.' he thought but somehow he didn't think that was really what it was. He looked up as the door opened and in walked Lin who had the clipboard in his hand and he shook his head. Naru looked away.

"Are you ever going to tell me why Mai was crying?" Lin asked. He was unsurprised when Naru didn't reply. Lin had a feeling that he knew what had happened between the two teenagers. Naru had obviously shot his mouth off to Mai and she had gotten upset and ran away. Lin decided that it must have been terrible as Mai never had such a reaction.

"Lin-san! Naru!" Ayako came running into the room and Lin's attention was caught by the woman's scared eyes. "I need help! Mai's stopped breathing!" she cried and Lin blinked as he was stunned.

"What?!" Naru was out of his seat and Ayako watched him go before Lin grabbed her arm and took her back to the girls' room.

"Mai, snap out of it!" Masako cried. She felt for a pulse and was stunned to find that the young girl had a strong pulse. 'How does someone not breathe but have a pulse?' Masako asked herself before she continued to shake the girl who gave no response. Masako found herself being pulled away and she saw that Naru had taken her place and was shaking the girl.

"Naru, stop it. She isn't going to wake up." Masako turned around to see Lin standing there. "She may be having a dream. She projects herself into an astral plane, a ghost world. She'll wake on her own." Lin said and Naru let the girl go. He turned to look at the three other people in the room.

His eyes were on fire and Lin drew in a breath. Naru turned and left the room as anger ate at him. He could feel the anger filling his whole body. Why was Mai not breathing? Mai never stopped breathing when she had one of her dreams. What made this dream so much different? For the first time in a long time…Naru didn't understand what was going on.

* * *

The breeze was playing on their faces. Gene brushed Mai's bangs back as she rested her head on his lap. He looked down from the leaves of the tree they were sitting under. Mai's eyes were closed and her breathing was soft. Gene wondered how Noll was reacting. He almost felt sorry for his brother but he was tired of seeing such a caring girl in tears every time they met in her dreams.

His eyes trailed up to the orphanage as they were sitting directly in front of it. Mai shifted slightly and Gene looked down at her but she didn't wake. He continued to stroke her hair as he stared at the building. He wasn't sure himself what was wrong. He knew there were souls trapped on the grounds but none of them were violent or even tricky. From what he saw, they were just playful children that hadn't gotten a chance at life.

"Mai, wake up." he whispered as his eyes caught the small movement in front of the orphanage. Mai sat up and Gene couldn't help but smile at the adorable sleepy look that the girl had on her face. She yawned before looking in the direction that he was pointing. She gasped as figures began to appear and she saw they were little children, maybe Kaoru's age.

"What's going on?" she whispered as she looked at Naru. He was leaning against the tree watching the children. She watched as his warm blue eyes studied the ghostly forms of the children playing ball in the front of the orphanage and paying no attention to the teenagers sitting under the tree watching them.

"These spirits are children that lost their lives at a very young age. They weren't given the chance to live. But I'm not sure how they were killed but I'm almost positive they aren't causing these problems." Gene said and he watched as Mai studied the children. He reached out and gently brushed his fingers against her cheek. Her attention immediately turned back to him.

"What do we do now?" she whispered and he let his eyes trail back to the children as they played happily. He felt her hand cover his and he turned his head to look back at her and he gave her a smile before he kissed her on the cheek.

"We wait. Something will happen, the ghost may be in hiding as it doesn't know who is in the house." he whispered and Mai leaned against him as she watched the children play. She could remember playing in front of the orphanage when she had been a child. She could remember that one time they had been playing baseball and the ball had crashed through one of the windows.

'I wonder if Martia is still mad at us about that.' Mai thought before Naru wrapped his arm around her. She couldn't stop the smile forming on her lips as she rested against the man. She had long forgotten that she was really asleep. It felt too nice to be a dream.

* * *

Naru had Mai moved to the base room where they had set a cot up for her. He sighed as he once again glanced at the non-breathing girl. She was still trapped in whatever dream she was having. The only thing that assured everyone that she was alive was the fact that her pulse was very strong. There was a soft knock on the door and Naru's head turned and he frowned as no one was at the opened door before he felt something latch onto his leg and he looked down to see Kaoru was holding onto his leg while looking up at him.

"Mr. Tea-man, why won't Mai wake up? I heard the kimono girl say she wouldn't wake up." Kaoru asked and Naru frowned. He bent down, causing the little girl to let go of his leg. He met her eyes before shaking his head.

"Don't tell anyone else. But I'm not sure myself. Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked and Kaoru's head dropped and he saw tears were running down the girl's chubby cheeks. He reached into his pocket and handed her his handkerchief. She gave him a wet smile before wiping her tears away.

"I just wanted to say goodnight to Mai. She always tucks me in when she visits." Kaoru said before squeaking as Naru picked her up and put her beside Mai. Kaoru looked up at the black haired boy before she hugged Mai.

Naru watched as the child hugged the unresponsive Mai. He hadn't expected a response from the ginger haired girl. Kaoru sat up before she looked at Naru and he saw how she was watching him so seriously. He found it funny that a five year old could look so serious. Hadn't she been teasing Mai earlier?

"Mrs. Martia said that you were helping stop the scary things happening here." Kaoru whispered and Naru nodded before he sat on his knees in front of the child. He silently wished that Masako or Ayako would come and get her. He wasn't the best with children. She smiled at his answer and he blinked as she reached out and touched his cheek.

"Mai will wake up. I know she will." Kaoru said before she withdrew her hand. "Will you walk with me to my room? It's scary in the halls at night."

Naru didn't want to leave Mai in the room by herself but he knew that he couldn't let a five year old walk in the halls alone. Especially when there was a ghost that was throwing objects at people. He also knew if she got hurt and Mai woke up that he would be a dead man.

He took the little girl's hand and they started down the hall. He let Kaoru lead him to her room. He was alert but he stopped as suddenly the doors began to open and close. He felt Kaoru latch onto his legs. His eyes darted around as the doors continued to open and slam shut. He felt the temperature dropping suddenly and he reached down and gripped Kaoru's shoulder as she was cutting off the circulation in his leg.

'Now I know why I don't like kids with us when things start happening thanks to the paranormal.' Naru though before he hear a squealing. He looked over his shoulder and he felt his eyes widen when he saw that knives were floating behind them. He heard Kaoru crying. He picked the girl up and ran into the closest room and slammed the door shut as the knives hit the door.

"Mr. Tea-man?" the girl asked and Naru gave her his normal look and she giggled happily. He rolled his eyes before he felt something hit the door and he groaned as it caused him to stumble away from the door with Kaoru still clinging to him. He reached into his pocket and found his phone. He called Lin and told him what happened.

He closed it after Lin told him that he would be there in a few moments. Naru noticed that he and his now sleeping companion, who was still clinging to him even though she was asleep, that he was in an empty bedroom. He wondered how a child could fall asleep after being so hysterical moments earlier.

"Naru?" the black haired boy whirled around when Lin opened the door and he was unsurprised to see knives embedded in the door. He followed his guardian back to the base and he placed the sleeping child beside Mai before looking at Lin who looked at him with serious eyes.

"Lin, I'm assuming by the look on your face you found some information." Naru said and Lin sighed before he took a seat at the table that they had set up to place all their equipment on. Naru knew something was wrong when Lin didn't immediately reveal the information that he had found. After nearly five minutes of silence Naru was beginning to get agitated.

"Mai has gone into a 'death slumber'. That means that whoever her spirit guide is had to send into her a fake death to be able to show her what is going on. The problem is that if she stays in that 'ghost world' for more than twenty-four hours…she'll be stuck forever." Lin said and Naru felt his heart stop beating as he locked eyes with the older man.

* * *

Gene felt something freeze inside him as he carried Mai into the orphanage on his back. He stopped in the main hallway as suddenly Noll appeared in front of him. Gene watched as his brother sat down on the steps that led up to the second floor. Gene ignored the feeling in his chest before walking past his brother with the sleeping Mai on his back; he decided that she needed to eat more. She was to light.

'Noll, you deserve this.' Gene thought as he continued up the steps. He wasn't going to think about how his brother was feeling. He currently didn't care as he had seen enough of Mai crying all the time because of Noll's cruelness to the girl. Gene wished his brother could learn how to treat a human being.

* * *

Naru stared at his knees as he sat on the stairs. Lin was watching over Kaoru and Mai. He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to cope with what Lin had told him. He could feel his breathing was unstable.

'_In simple terms, Naru, she'll die if she doesn't wake up in the next twenty hours._' Lin's voice echoed in his head and Naru fell back until he was lying on the steps staring up at the ceiling. He was going to lose someone else.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Ghost Hunt...but you alread knew that. Just do your thing. Read and review.

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Chapter 3

Mai felt warm. She opened her eyes slowly and found that her pillow was very warm. She wondered why. She reached out and felt the cloth of her pillow. She squeaked as her pillow moved by itself. She heard her 'pillow' chuckle and she sat up and saw that her pillow was Naru. She could feel a smile spread across her face. She saw him return the smile and she hugged him as he sat up.

She realized that they were in a bed in the room that she had occupied when she had lived at the orphanage. She looked at him and he shrugged. She climbed of the bed and went around the room as memories poured down on her. She could remember when her first roommate had been old enough to go to high school. She and the girl had stayed up all night with her friend talking about the high school her friend had chosen.

"This is the one room that isn't giving off any paranormal activity." Gene told her as he watched her go around the room. He knew it was the room that she had grown up in when she lived at the orphanage. He decided that it wasn't coincidence that Mai's former room that was the only one not affected by the paranormal activity.

"Isn't that odd?" Mai asked as she turned to look at Naru who had swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He shrugged and Mai turned back to look at the desk that she had used when she had lived there. She rubbed her fingers over the smooth wood of the desk and she gave a sad smile. She knew some orphans didn't miss the orphanage but she did. It had felt as though everyone had been part of her family.

"Naru, what could be causing this?" Mai whispered and the man shook his head before he stood up and took her hand gently in his.

"I wish I knew. Last night I felt something sinister but it disappeared so quickly that I didn't understand what it was." Gene replied. He felt Mai's hand squeeze his before he led her out of the room. Mai felt a shiver go down her spine before her heart skipped a beat and she felt her knees buckle beneath her. Naru caught her before she hit the floor. She clutched at her chest as pain shot through her. She clutched at Naru's jacket as tears began to trail down her face.

"What's happening?" she whimpered and Gene frowned. He knew what was happening to Mai. He didn't reply as he held her. Her heart was beginning to stop and soon she, if she didn't wake up, would die. Gene closed his eyes and fought against the guilt. Noll had hurt her enough for Gene to stoop to this.

"Just breath." he finally replied and Mai did as she was told before she straightened up and Naru's arm was around her shoulder and she rested against him for a moment. What had happened? She closed her eyes and the last thing she felt before falling back asleep in her dream was Naru's lips on her forehead, so soft they felt like flower petals.

* * *

Naru wasn't sure how _he_ ended up with a blonde haired five year old on his back as he went through the third floor rooms, checking the cameras. Apparently the girl had grown attached to Naru after he saved her life. He had to admit, though he was never one to admit anything, that the girl was curious. She asked what he was doing each time he checked a camera. He decided that he was going to have bruises on his throat by the time he got the girl to get off his back.

"Mr. Tea-man, how is this going to help Mai?" Kaoru asked as she looked over his shoulder as he finished writing down something on the clipboard before he turned back to the door and began towards the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"I don't know, Kaoru-chan. It may be the ghost's fault that she has gone into her 'sleep' and can't wake up. We're doing everything we can to wake her up." he said and he felt Kaoru's arms tighten around his neck and he put one arm behind his back and hefted her up slightly so that she wouldn't slide down his back anymore than she already had.

"I wish we could wake her up. She said she didn't like to sleep a long time." Kaoru said as he entered another room. Naru frowned before he made Kaoru sit down on the bed and he turned to look at her. If Mai had talked to Kaoru about her dreams then he may have just found a new lead onto how to wake up Mai.

"Has she told you about her dreams?" he asked her and Kaoru nodded before a smile spread across her face.

"Yup! She talks about how she always helps with cases because of her dreams. She likes it when you tell her that she did a good job! She told me never to tell that to you if I met you!" Kaoru said proudly and Naru cleared his throat and Kaoru blinked before a sheepish look appeared on her face.

"Oops." Kaoru covered her mouth and Naru felt his lips twitch. Kaoru reminded him of Gene when they had been children. Gene had only been able to keep one secret, the secret about Naru's PK, and other secrets were in danger.

"I won't tell her that you told me." he promised and Kaoru nodded with a bright smile on her face. An image of Mai laughing flashed through his mind and he closed his eyes as he tried to stop thinking about what would happen if she never woke up again. He took a deep breath to calm his heart and he felt a hand grip his and his eyes snapped open and he saw that Kaoru had climbed off the bed and taken his hand while burying her head against his thigh.

"She'll be okay, Mr. Tea-man. I know she will." Kaoru whispered and Naru wondered briefly when he had started needing the comfort of a child. He felt his phone start vibrating and he answered it as Kaoru continued to cling to his hands.

"Naru, you need to get back here now!" Lin's voice exploded over the phone and Naru frowned. He could hear yells of 'Mai!' and he began to put the puzzle together because of those cries.

"Lin, what's going on?" he demanded before grunting as Kaoru, somehow, climbed back up onto his back. He decided that the child must have been part monkey. Her arms were back around his throat and he noticed that she had his clipboard in her hands and he sighed.

"Just get back to the base, Naru. Mai's heart rate is dropping fast, Ayako is trying to stabilize her but it isn't working to well." Lin said and Naru shut his phone before placing it back in his pocket. He left the room he was in as quickly as he could without dropping Kaoru.

* * *

"Mai! Mai, listen to me! Mai, do not do this!!" Ayako cried as she held Mai's wrist in her hand and feeling the girl's pulse slow down. Ayako closed her eyes as she felt everyone's eyes on her back. "Takigawa, go get water. Hara-san, would you go see if you can find blankets?"

"Yes." both parties left as Ayako continued to take Mai's pulse. She growled before putting Mai's wrist down and putting her hands on the girl's face and shaking her slightly.

"Mai, answer me. Mai, stop this. Mai! Mai, wake up!" Ayako felt for her pulse again and it took her almost three minutes to find the faint beating. Ayako growled before she started CPR and was about to give up before she heard the door open and she looked over her shoulder and saw Naru standing there with a blonde haired child hanging from his throat down his back. Ayako shook her head as she was certain she was imagining things.

"How is she?" Ayako could have sworn that she heard concern in Naru's voice but what caught her attention was the moan that emitted from Mai at the sound of Naru's voice and Ayako turned to look at the girl and she gasped.

"Naru, say something!" Ayako saw the look he gave her and she rolled her eyes. "She's reacting to your voice! Say something!"

"Ayako, that is ridiculous!" Naru snapped and Ayako felt for Mai's pulse and sighed in relief as it had returned strongly.

"Her pulse is strong now. She has what? Sixteen hours?" Ayako looked at Lin for the answer and the man nodded as he studied the folder that he held.

"She's never been asleep this long. I'm not sure if she has enough strength to return from that place. And if she does…she may not survive if she does wake up." Lin responded and he looked up from his papers with serious eyes and he saw that Naru had gone pale and Ayako was wobbling where she sat by Mai. Lin sighed softly before placing his folder on the table.

"But…I thought…" Ayako managed to get out.

"I know…I did as well until I called Madoka. She did more extensive research and said that someone with as little experience as Mai would be in danger whenever they entered the astral plane and she found that if an inexperienced person stayed there for more than three hours…they become the equivalent of someone in an intensive care unit that isn't stable." Lin continued.

"Does that mean Mai won't ever wake up, Mr. Lin?" came a soft voice and Lin's attention was drawn to the girl on Naru's back that looked like she was about to cry. He gave Naru an exasperated look. He hadn't expected for a child to be in the room with them. He saw Naru shrug, or at least as much as he could with a fifty pound weight on his back.

"Kaoru-chan…it'll be okay." Lin said before turning away. Ayako stood up on wobbly legs before she offered to take Kaoru from Naru. The blonde haired child refused to let go and Naru nodded that it was alright. Ayako shrugged before she left the room and Naru helped Kaoru climb off his back before she went back to Mai and cuddled underneath the girl's arm and held onto the sleeping Mai.

* * *

Gene was sitting on the steps watching Mai as she played with the child ghosts. The children had finally started to see them. And Mai was enjoying playing with the children. He couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face as all the ghosts tackled Mai and began to tickle her rapidly.

"Naru, a little help!" she cried and he just shrugged and she squealed as he didn't come to her rescue. She tried to get away but the little ghosts wouldn't let her and Gene smiled before a shiver went down his spine and the little ghosts disappeared and he went to Mai and helped her up before they found themselves standing in the third floor hallway.

"What's going on?" Mai asked and Gene shook his head. Not even he was sure what was happening. He looked around before they both took a step back as a woman dressed in black walked out of the room and Gene tried to get a better look at the woman's face but he couldn't.

"Who on earth?" Gene felt Mai move away from hi and follow the retreating woman. Gene followed Mai as she followed the mysterious woman. Gene grabbed Mai as she tried to follow the woman down the stairs. Mai looked over at him and he shook his head before they watched the woman disappear.

"Let's see what she left behind." Gene said before taking Mai back to the room that the woman had exited earlier. Gene opened the door and he was forced to take a step back at the smell that assaulted his nose. He wondered what could smell so strongly that even _he_, a ghost, could smell it. He looked at Mai and saw that she had a hand over her mouth and he gently took her arm before leading her into the room and they both coughed at the smoke that filled it.

"This is one of the abandoned rooms in this house. Martia never puts anyone in here because she thought children should share rooms when they're younger. Most of the young children that showed up at the orphanage wanted to go up and down the stairs. So Martia let them have third floor rooms." Mai said before coughing as the smoke constricted her lungs. How had so much smoke gotten into one single room? If this was actually happening shouldn't someone smell it?

"It's a curse." Gene finally said and he felt Mai's eyes on him, waiting for an explanation. "Someone has cursed this house and its origin is in this room. And I should probably point out that whoever placed this curse is very much _alive_. The curse is placed on the actual house, unusual since most curses are placed on a person not a house. This is getting very dangerous."

"But why?" Mai whispered and Gene wrapped his arm around the girl and led her out of the room. He made sure the door closed behind them and he faced Mai and she looked up at him with teary eyes and he wiped them away.

"I'm afraid you've already figured that out. Someone wants this orphanage out of business." he whispered and Mai shook her head before she buried her head against his chest and began to sob. Gene held her gently as she sobbed and he wished that he hadn't mentioned it but he knew that she was beginning to put things together and he also knew that she would have figured it out by herself.

* * *

"Did he tell you what we're looking for?" Takigawa asked Ayako as he looked under the bed of the room that they were currently 'investigating' for something that wasn't meant to be in a room of an orphanage.

"Naru? Ha! You've got to be kidding me. That boy has three things on his mind right now. One- Mai's condition and how to fix it. Two- how to take care of that blonde monkey that has attached herself to him. And three- what is causing this and how to solve this case." Ayako said while counting down on her fingers. Takigawa sighed as he realized that Ayako was right.

The monk had looked in on Naru since Lin had paired up with John. Masako was doing a walk through in the garden while watching some of the children. Takigawa had decided that since no one was with Naru that he would check on their favorite narcissistic boss. What he saw had almost made him laugh.

Kaoru had climbed onto Naru's lap and looked as though she were asleep against the boy. Takigawa had watched as Naru attempted to type on the computer but Kaoru was a wiggler. Every time Naru moved to get around her she would move with him and he wouldn't be able to get to the computer once again. Finally Naru had picked her up and tried to place her with Mai, Kaoru wasn't going to take that. She started whining once he put her down and he had been forced to pick her back up.

"I suppose you're right. I guess we're on our own. Though it would be nice if Mai could wake up and give us some sort of hint." Takigawa groaned as he got up from his kneeling position and he groaned again as his knees popped and he heard Ayako laugh as she heard the popping.

"Getting old, Bou-san?" she teased and he growled at her. "Okay, okay, I quit! And you know as well as I do that we'll be lucky if Mai _does_ wake up."

"You know what really scares me? Is that Naru's getting his wake up call…and I'm beginning to think that he isn't going to understand fast enough." Takigawa said as he looked through the bookshelf that held the books of the previous occupant. He could remember reading the fairytale books on the shelves.

"Do you think Mai's going to die?" Ayako cried and the monk turned to look at her before he sighed.

"I hope not." he replied before they both fell silent as there was a loud cracking sound. Ayako shared a look with Takigawa before the man looked up at the ceiling and his eyes went wide as he saw cracks forming. He had bad sense of de ja vu as he remembered the last time a ceiling had collapsed. He reached for Ayako and grabbed her arm.

"Get out!!" he cried before the ceiling began to fall and they barely got out in time. Takigawa landed on Ayako and when they realized that the loudness of the falling ceiling had stopped Takigawa sat up and looked at the room.

"What happened?" Ayako asked out of breath and Takigawa shook his head as his breathing was also irregular.

"I have no idea. But I think this case has just gotten a whole lot more dangerous." Takigawa said unnecessarily and Ayako nodded.

* * *

Masako smiled at the children as they played in the garden. She didn't see any ghosts looking for something to do. She sighed softly before turning around and studying the house. She felt a shiver go down her spine and she instantly knew that someone that wasn't alive was watching her. She turned and froze as she saw a young girl, a few years older than Kaoru, staring at her. Masako gave her soft smile and the ghost tilted it's head.

"You're one of the ones trying to find out what's happening." the ghost stated and Masako nodded. "They don't want you to know. So you won't know." the child said and Masako frowned. She noticed that the girl was wearing a kimono, Masako wasn't one against kimonos but the only time she saw children wear kimonos was if they were in a play or if they were in a very old picture.

"They?" Masako questioned gently. She didn't want to scare the child away. The girl just nodded.

"They thought the orphanage was getting to crowded. So they chose which ones they wanted gone. They hated us." the girl continued and Masako drew in a breath when the child's neck began to bleed. Soon the child was covered in blood and she looked down at her ghostly body before she disappeared and Masako dropped her head in defeat.

'That was mildly unhelpful.' Masako couldn't help thinking. She sighed before her attention was drawn by the third floor windows of the house. She squinted and gasped at what she saw. There was a girl in the window with a man beside her. Masako looked closer and she could have sworn that it was Mai and Naru before the figures disappeared from the window.

'I'm imagining things. Mai isn't awake and even if she was Naru wouldn't be with her! He'd be with Lin.' Masako thought jealously. She may have been worried about the ginger haired girl but that didn't mean she wasn't still after Naru.

Another chill went down her spine and her attention was jerked back to the third floor windows. She frowned as they all went black and she could feel her breathing shorten before she saw the cracks forming. She turned and looked at the laughing children who didn't seem to realize what was going on.

"GET DOWN!!!" she screamed and she felt everything shake as the windows exploded and she was thrown to the ground by the explosion and she felt the shards piercing through her kimono and she kept her eyes closed as she lay on the ground waiting for everything to be clear. She didn't know what happened.

* * *

Naru sat in his chair with a sleeping child in his lap. He wondered how he got into the mess. Why was the child so attached to _him_? Mai was the one kids were supposed to attach to. They were supposed to leave him alone! Kaoru obviously didn't care as she refused to leave him alone for more than two minutes. Naru looked down at her as she rested her head against his chest.

He could imagine Mai babysitting her. He could see Mai baking cookies for the child and taking care of her. Naru could see all of that in his mind's eyes and he wished briefly that he could see it in person. His eyes trailed over to Mai and he had a sickening feeling that he may never see Mai awake again.

"Mr. Tea-man?" Naru's attention was suddenly drawn to his burden and when she saw that he was paying attention she continued. "Can I go eat? Will you be okay?" she asked and Naru raised an eyebrow.

"I can manage. Go eat." he ushered her out and closed the door and sighed in relief. 'Go sleep in your own room, please!' Naru couldn't believe he had thought the word 'please' but he was tired of being babysat by a five year old child.

"Now I can get some work done." he said to himself before stopping as the house began to shake. He frowned before glancing out the window and the house gave an almighty shake and she saw the cracks in the window and he turned away and threw himself at Mai as the windows burst and threw glass outside and inside. He felt glass shards hitting him as he shielded the unconscious Mai.

"Naru!!" Naru's head shot up as Lin threw the door open. "We have to get out of this house. Now." Lin said and Naru hauled Mai up and the two men ran as fast as they could down the halls and stairs and when they burst through the doors Naru allowed himself to breath. He looked back before at the children that were surrounding Ayako, Masako, and Martia.

"Where's Kaoru?" he asked when he noticed the child was missing and Martia gave him a strange look.

"I thought she was with you. She never came out." she replied and Naru looked over his shoulder at the now windowless orphanage. The orphanage that Kaoru was still in and now in just as much danger as Mai.


	4. Chapter 4

Kieno: Ahem. Drum roll please! _silence_ I said…drum roll please!! _author hit with drum stick_ Hey!!

Naru: I don't play the drums.

Kieno: Oh, really? _starts chasing the narcissist with a drum stick. _Get back here you!! I'm an author and I don't have to use my powers for good!!

Mai: Um, hi!! Since the author is currently busy. _jumps at a loud ka-thunk_ I'll do this! She doesn't own us-

Naru: Do I have to hit you?! I don't hit girls!

Mai: Ahem…like I was saying-

Kieno: You just had to hit the stupid drums!

Mai: SHUT UP!! I'M BUSY!!!

Kieno and Naru: _silence_

Mai: Okay, Kieno doesn't own any of us except little Kaoru! Oh and please review…it's the only time Naru shuts up! He likes to annoy Kieno! Bye! Oh and forgive Kieno in advanced for this ending…I know I won't until she fixes this nice mess.

Kieno: Quiet!! _puts hand over Mai's mouth_ Just read and review…Naru, quit mumbling about those chocolate donuts!! I'm not giving you any sugar!

* * *

Chapter 4

"Did Masako tell you what she found?" Lin asked as he shone his flashlight through the dining room. The electricity had apparently failed and when Martia called the company had said they wouldn't be able to get it turned back on for another day.

"Yes. Martia is looking through her records, showing pictures to Hara-san to see if she recognizes any of the kids." Naru replied as he looked under the table for any sign of the blonde haired child. He frowned as there was nothing to suggest that was where she had been hiding.

"How many places can a child hide?" Naru asked as a stood up and leaned against the wall of the dining room as Lin finished searching the plate cabinets and he stood up and sighed softly.

"Do you not remember when you and Gene played hide-and-go seek?" Lin said and Naru blinked before growling softly.

"Fine. Can we just find this kid?" Naru said before he left the dining room. He carefully made his way up the stairs, the broken glass crunching beneath his shoes. He wondered what had made the windows explode. None of the cameras had showed an activity in any of the rooms and he hadn't tried to look when the windows started to explode, he had been to busy protecting Mai.

"Kaoru? Kaoru, if you can hear me, say something!" he called but he heard nothing as a response. He sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes. He shone his flashlight around the second floor hallway and saw nothing except the glass that lined the floor. He checked each room but found no sign of the little girl. He sighed. How hard could one little kid be to find?

* * *

Kaoru was scared as she looked around the orphanage. It was dark and she felt lonely. She felt someone touch her shoulder and her head jerked up and her face split into a wide grin when she saw it was Mai that had touched her shoulder.

"Mai-chan!! You're awake!" Kaoru hugged the legs of the girl and she felt Mai's hands on her shoulders as she held onto the older girl tightly. She didn't want to let go until Naru found her, wherever she was. She wasn't exactly sure where that was. The last thing she remembered was the house shaking and everything went black.

"No, I'm not awake…but you need to wake-up, sweetheart." Mai whispered and she bent down so that she was on eye level with the child. Mai saw her look over her shoulder and watched as the girl's eyes lit up before she rushed past Mai and Mai heard someone grunt and she whirled around and saw Kaoru holding onto the dream Naru.

"MR. TEA-MAN!!" Kaoru squealed and Mai sweat dropped. She decided from the way that Kaoru was holding on the dream that she had become attached to the real thing.

Gene was beyond confused. Mai had seen the little girl and had went to tell her that she needed to wake up. The next thing Gene knew he had a blonde haired child clinging to his legs. He looked down at the child as she looked up at him with wide eyes and he could see how Naru had taken care of her. He bent down and put his hand on her head and gave her his smile and he watched her face light up. He knew that Naru hadn't smiled at her from the way she was reacting to him.

"You have to wake up, dear. It's very dangerous here." he whispered and he saw her grown before looking over her shoulder and frowning at Mai.

"But shouldn't she be waking up as well?" Kaoru asked and Mai smiled before she put her hand on Kaoru's head.

"No, it's better if I stay here. Everyone will be happier if I do, especially the Naru there. I'm always in his way and this way I can stay out of his way. But it's dangerous here and I don't think you should stay here so you need to wake up." Mai whispered and Kaoru frowned before her eyes began to close and she let go of Naru's legs as she began to fade away.

* * *

Naru was on the third floor. He shone his light into the room that Ayako and Takigawa had said almost collapsed on them. He frowned before continuing down the hallway. He heard a small whimper coming from his left and he turned in the direction quickly. He stayed silent and heard the whimper again and he isolated it from one room that had the door open. He kicked the door in when he found out that it was stuck.

"Kaoru!" he found her on the floor curled up with glass in her hair and cuts on her arms and face and he went to her and gently lifted her up. "Kaoru, wake up. Kaoru?" he shook the child slightly but didn't shake her to hard as he didn't want to hurt her. He wondered when he began to care for the child.

'You should wonder the same thing about Mai.' a voice said in his head and he faltered slightly. 'Mai's my assistant, of course I care.' he growled to himself before a whimper caught his attention and he looked down surprised as Kaoru's eyes blinked open.

"Mr. Tea-man!" Naru almost choked when Kaoru's arms wrapped around his neck. He was glad the child was alright but did she have to try and kill him? Apparently so because she wasn't letting go. He noticed belatedly that she was sobbing and he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back. He couldn't blame her for being so upset. She had just been hurt by something in the orphanage and it wasn't happy.

"Shh, it's alright. Let's get you out to Ayako and get this glass off of you." he said and left the room with the girl clutching his neck as he made his way down the hallway.

"She thinks you don't like her." Kaoru whispered and Naru frowned. What was she talking about? He stopped and pulled away from the child slightly and he gently turned her face upwards so that he could meet her baby blue eyes that were filled with unshed tears. He brushed away the tears and Kaoru sniffed.

"What do you mean, Kaoru?" he asked and Kaoru cleared her throat and he watched as she wiped her eyes after his hand had left her face. He waited patiently for the child to elaborate on what she had said.

"Mai-chan…she thinks that you don't want her here because she thinks she's in the way." Kaoru she whispered and Naru felt his eyes widen before Kaoru put her head on his shoulder and he heard her breathing even out. He knew the child had fallen asleep and he quietly made his way down the stairs of each floor and outside where Martia and Ayako had set grills up and were grilling hotdogs and hamburgers for the children who were playing basketball.

"You found her!" Ayako rushed over to Naru and took the sleeping child away. Naru watched as Ayako pulled glass out of her hair and clothes. Naru's eyes trailed to Mai as she lay on a cot under a tree. He went over to her and gently brushed her bangs back. He checked his watch an he felt sick when he realized she had four hours left. His eyes turned to the horizon as the sun was beginning to set.

"Brown-san, Lin, help me move Mai inside." he said before he bent down and picked her up. He had to stop from dropping her when her head fell back limply and over his arm. He adjusted slightly so that her head was resting against his shoulder and he moved into the orphanage and waited in the base as John and Lin set the cot back up. He gently placed his bundle on the bed as the two men left and he bowed his head.

'What am I going to do if she dies?' he finally asked himself. He couldn't answer his own question and he sighed angrily. There was an answer, he just wouldn't admit. He sat down in the chair that they had left and watched through the glassless window as the sun began to set. He closed his eyes as he kept his head bent.

'What did you do when Gene died?' Naru felt his eyes widen. He could remember very well how he had lost it when Gene died. Even he could admit that he had lost what sanity he had. His eyes trailed to Mai and he stood up and felt for her pulse. He almost choked when he realized that it was getting weaker and weaker.

'Admit it, already! You love her!' a voice snapped in Naru's head and he felt his heart jump as Mai's pulse beat weakly against his fingers.

* * *

"It's getting so dark, Naru." Mai whispered as she held onto his arm. She was right; the whole orphanage was turning black. Gene watched as the darkness drew closer to them as they stood in the middle of the main hall of the orphanage. He held Mai closer as the darkness continued to draw closer. Gene was almost certain that the darkness was targeting them. He watched beginning to fear for Mai.

"The curse is gaining strength." he whispered and he heard Mai whimper as she held onto him tightly. His reply was to wrap both arms around her, trying to protect her from whatever was trying to kill them.

"Is this what's trying to hurt everyone?" Mai asked and Gene just nodded, trying to find someway to save Mai. She was the one that was in real danger. The darkness would consume her and she wouldn't have a soul anymore. He could live since his soul was already gone and his last connection to the living world was Mai. He looked down at the fearful girl in his arms and

"Mai…" he whispered and Mai shook her head as she buried her head in his chest and he could feel her shaking as she sobbed into his chest. Gene knew she was scared and he looked back up at the darkness that was heading for them. There was only one thing that he could do.

* * *

"Naru?" Naru looked up from where he was holding Mai's hand to see Lin standing there with lit candles. The older man placed the candles around the room and Naru returned his attention to Mai. He was holding her hand as tightly as he could but he still felt her slipping through his grasp no matter how tightly he held her hand. No matter how much he begged she was slipping with each second.

"There's thirty minutes left, Naru. Are you going to eat?" Lin asked and Naru turned his head to look at the man as though he had lost his mind. Lin knew the look in his eyes and he had seen that in his eyes when he had found out Gene was dead. Lin put his hand on Naru's shoulder as the boy's eyes told the whole story to the Chinese man.

"I already let someone I care for die alone. I won't let Mai die alone. She doesn't deserve to die alone. She doesn't deserve to die but I can change that. The most I can do is stay with her." Naru whispered. Lin squeezed the boy's shoulder before he turned and left the room deciding this was something that Naru needed to face by himself. He didn't know that Naru quietly thanked him for leaving.

"Mai, I really, honestly don't know if you can hear me. And that scares me. It scares me that I can't help you, Mai. It scares me that I can't…save you. But what scares me the most is that I don't understand. We always fight…but why do you do this now? Why do you have to scare me all the time?" he whispered as he continued to hold her hand as he listened to the clock ticking away, her life slipping away with each tick.

* * *

"Naru…" Mai felt fear tearing at her insides when she saw that the darkness that had engulfed the whole orphanage had been engulfed in. She held on tighter before Naru was tilting her head up and she saw that his eyes were also fearful and she gasped as she saw that fear. Even in her dreams Naru _never_ looked scared. She began to believe that this dream wasn't normal when Naru was scared.

"Mai, listen to me. I know that I asked you to stay. But it's dangerous here. You have to go back. I know…I know that you don't like it there but for your safety you have to leave. And besides…you have to warn your friends." he told her and Mai felt tears welling before she looked over her shoulder and she could feel it at her feet. She looked back up at Naru.

"You'll be alright?" she whispered and he gave her his smile before he nodded and she closed her eyes and tried to return.

* * *

"Naru…" Naru's head shot up when he heard a whimper come from the prone Mai. The next thing he knew he had her in his arms shaking her. That's when he noticed that she was breathing again. He gasped as he began to shake her again.

"MAI!!! Mai, open your eyes! Mai!!! Come on, open your eyes!!" he cried. He had never wanted to see her brown eyes so badly in his entire time of knowing the girl. "MAI!!"

Mai heard someone shouting her name and she couldn't place the voice and she also noticed that someone was holding her. She tried to open her eyes when the voice begged her to do so. But her eyes wouldn't open. And why did she feel so tired? The person holding her began to shake her and she tried even harder to open her eyes but they refused to budge. She felt herself slipping away as the shaking began to fade away.

"MAI!!" Mai placed the voice as Naru's. She wondered why he was yelling. She decided that it must be because she had fallen asleep on the job again. She gave a small whimper before everything slipped away again and her eyes snapped open to be met with startled blue hues.

"Mai?!" Mai gasped when she felt the darkness wrap around them and she buried her head against Naru's chest as fear smothered her. "No! Mai, you have to wake up!"

* * *

"MAI!! Mai, don't do this! Mai!" Naru shook her even harder. He let his hands brush against her face and his breathing grew irregular when he realized that her face had grown cold. Hesitantly he placed his fingers on her neck and found nothing. He felt warmth on his cheeks and he touched them and when he pulled back he saw moisture on his fingertips. For the first time in nearly a year…Oliver 'Noll' Davis was crying.

* * *

I have one thing to say before I run...things are not always what they seem! Bye!! Author runs and hides behind Naru.


	5. Chapter 5

Kieno: I'm still alive? Wow. _hit with another drumstick_ HEY!! Quit with the drumsticks already, Naru!

Naru: That's for the ending last time. _hits author with another drumstick_ And that's for hiding behind me.

Kieno: Naru?

Naru: Yes?

Kieno: You just gave me two weapons to hurt you with!! _chases Naru with the drumsticks_

Mai: Here we go again. Read and review. _screams and insults_ Just review before she kills Naru. And could someone take those drumsticks away from them?! Oh, she doesn't own us, by the way.

* * *

Chapter 5

Mai felt weird. There was really no word for how she felt. It was as though she was floating but at the same time she wasn't floating. She groaned before her eyes fluttered open and she saw that her surrounding was white. She sat up before she jumped as a hand placed itself on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder and gasped at who was smiling at her.

"Daddy!" she cried and threw herself at the man and felt his arms warp around her as she held onto him. She hadn't seen him since she was five and she could feel tears in her eyes as she held onto him. She had no desire to let him go again.

"Mai-chan, sweetheart." her father replied and she pulled back slightly and she gave him her best smile before realizing that her mother was smiling at her over his shoulder. Mai stood up and ran to her mother and hugged her as well. She didn't know what was going on but she didn't think she would be able to leave them ever again.

"Mai-chan, you can't stay here." her mother said when the teenager pulled away. She looked at them startled and her mother stroked her hair gently and Mai gulped. What were they talking about? Why couldn't she stay with them?

"Why? I want to stay here with you. You're my family." Mai whispered softly as her father went to them and also wrapped his arm around the now upset Mai. Mai sniffled as she tried to suppress her tears.

"We know, dear. There is someone that would much rather you stay living…wake up for him." her mother whispered and Mai gasped before her eyes snapped open and she was met with kind blue eyes. She realized that she was still asleep and they were surrounded by darkness. She closed her eyes for a moment as she remembered the embraces of her father and mother before she opened her eyes to meet Naru's eyes again.

"Mai?" Gene whispered. He had expected her to never wake up again. She had started to disappear and when her eyes snapped open he had felt his heart, nonexistent though it was as he was dead, skip a beat. He brushed his fingers against her cheek as he sat by her in the darkness.

"I have to go back to the real Naru and warn him." Mai whispered and Gene smiled at nodded. "He's not really that bad…maybe I can teach him to smile like you do!" Mai smiled before she disappeared completely and Gene watched as the darkness retreated. He leaned against the wall that he was sitting near and let his head thump back.

'I hope you can, Mai. You certainly taught me how to smile even though I'm dead. I just wish…that I had been alive when we met. Heh…Noll would say I'm an idiot and maybe…maybe he's right.' Gene thought as he sat there. He closed his eyes as he waited for the next time Mai would visit him and hoping that she wouldn't be crying again.

* * *

"Lin-san?"

"Lin?"

"Lin!"

All the voices caught his attention as he exited the room after witnessing what had happened in the base. He swallowed back the grief that threatened to strangle him. He just shook his head and he heard strangled cries of grief. He watched as Ayako collapsed to the ground and Masako covered her face as tears began to spill.

"Lin-san?" Martia's voice caught his attention and he looked up to see that the older woman had Kaoru in her arms and he saw the little girl was bravely trying not to cry. He gave her a rare smile and she gave a weak smile back before he turned his attention to the client.

"Taniyama-san…passed away a few moments ago. Naru is still with her." Lin said. He saw Martia's eyes widen at the news before putting Kaoru down and following the girl. Lin closed his eyes before taking his phone out and dialing a familiar number.

"Mori Madoka speaking. How may I help you?" Madoka's cheerful voice entered his head. Lin wished that he could be that cheerful.

"Madoka, it's Lin." he said. He heard her breath in deeply when she heard his voice.

"Lin…tell me the reason that you're calling is because Mai's awake and she didn't know my number and she wanted to talk to me." Madoka begged and Lin cleared his throat so that he would be sure that his voice wouldn't crack when he replied her. He sighed.

"No, Madoka…she never woke up. Naru stayed with her. I need to go." he said and Madoka agreed and he heard the tears in her voice and he shut his door as he bent his head and finally let the grief hit him.

* * *

Mai could feel a headache starting behind her eyes. She took in a deep breath and coughed. Her lungs felt tight. She wondered why. Her eyes fluttered open and she was confused when she saw the base was dark with what she guess to be candlelight playing on the walls. She sat up and shook her head as the room blurred for a moment. She looked around and blinked as she saw Naru was sitting in a chair near the bed she was on.

His head was between his knees and his hands were on his head. Mai looked at him for a moment and wondered if he was sick. She watched as he breathed in deep and she managed to get a look at his face and she felt her eyes widen when she saw his cheeks were damp.

"Naru?!" she cried and she could have sworn that she never saw someone's head snap as quickly as his dead. She stared into his blue eyes that were filled with grief. She saw those same eyes widen as they stared into hers. She gasped as Naru was up in a millisecond and had hold of her and she sat there with Naru's arms around her.

"You're alive." he whispered and Mai frowned as Naru held her. What was wrong with him? Of course she was alive! Why wouldn't she be alive? She had just been asleep so why he was reacting so weird.

"Naru, are you on something? Of course I'm alive!" Mai laughed before she stopped as she saw the serious look that Naru was giving her. She gulped. The only time she had seen that look was when it was directed at someone else and not her. She wondered why he was looking at her like that.

"For the past twenty-four hours…" Naru fell silent and Mai saw him swallow. She thought that he was trying to gain control; he didn't look as though he was composed. Mai thought he looked like he had been crying recently. "For the past twenty-four hours…you weren't breathing. Your heart stopped beating and you _died_."

Mai blinked in surprise. She tilted her head curiously as Naru rubbed her cheeks almost lovingly. Mai was surprised at how odd Naru was acting. Something had scared him that badly? When did anything scare Naru so badly? Naru did not get scared. So why was he being so odd? That's when the severity of his words hit her hard.

"_Died_? Naru, I didn't die! I was just asleep! I was just dreaming! The case…I was dreaming about the case! I got information for you!" Mai cried and she saw Naru frown before drawing her against his chest again. Mai stayed frozen as Naru held her. What was wrong with him? Mai heard a small gasp and Naru immediately pulled away and they both saw Kaoru standing at the door clutching the wooden object.

"Mai-chan?" the child whispered and Mai gave the child a kind smile before gasping as Kaoru ran and jumped onto the bed and wrapped her little arms around Mai tightly while crying. "MAI!! MAI!!" the child screamed and both teenagers heard footsteps pounding to the room and the whole SPR team rushed in.

"MAI!!!!" Mai found herself smothering under the arms that were hugging her. She was surprised to even see a kimono draped arm hugging on her. She had a small peep hole under all the arms that were hugging her. She saw someone standing in the corner that wasn't Naru or Lin who were watching the scene.

It was a child dressed in a kimono. Mai frowned as she thought it was Kaoru for a moment before the girl was suddenly covered in blood and then she disappeared. Mai gulped before she start to wriggle and everyone began to let go of her with the exception of a sobbing Kaoru.

"But…we thought…" Ayako whispered and Mai looked at Naru who she saw was sitting at the table with his head in his hands again and she could see through his fingers that his face was pale. Maybe he had been telling the truth about her not breathing. But she couldn't have died! If she had died then wouldn't she still be dead?

'_Daddy! Mommy!_' Mai remembered meeting her parents and wondered for a moment. She really had been dead! Naru had been telling the truth! She began to feel sick and she held Kaoru close. She had almost died and she hadn't even known it. She wondered if the dream Naru had known and she realized he probably didn't. He was imaginary, the darkness couldn't kill him. He had tried to get her to wake up but something had been blocking her from doing so.

"Oh, god! Mai!" Mai was engulfed in a familiar hug. Martia's hug. Mai could remember being little and being upset and how Martia would always hug to try and make the nightmares go away. Mai leaned into her as she held Kaoru. Mai bit her lip as tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"We need to let Mai rest. She has to be tired." Lin finally said and everyone moved away even Kaoru left. Mai watched as all of them left the room except Naru who pushed her down and draped a cover over her and Mai gave him a small smile. He turned to leave and she reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his coat and he turned to look at her.

"Please stay with me." Mai whispered. Naru just nodded before turning back to her and pulling the chair back up and he watched as she fell back asleep. He put his ear over her mouth just to assure himself that she was breathing this time. He didn't think he could stand almost losing her again.

* * *

"_The medium and Mai-chan have seen me. But they don't understand what happened to us!_" a sad voice cried as Kaoru sat on the bed that she had in the dining room. The girl twisted her blonde hair around her finger and tears ran down her cheeks silently.

"I know, big sister. But _they_ don't know yet. Mr. Tea-man was to busy trying to save Mai-chan. As long as Mrs. Martia's friends stay in the dark then they won't get hurt." Kaoru replied to the ghostly voice. Her attention was turned to the blonde haired girl that appeared in a kimono with blood staining her whole body from a head wound.

Kaoru jumped off her bed and went to the other girl and held her hand out. The ghost gave a smile before taking her hand and Kaoru smiled when their hands met and didn't pass through each other. Kaoru's smile grew brighter as did the kimono girl's smile.

"They'll save us, Kohana-chan. I know they will." Kaoru said with a smile and tears in her eyes. The girl, Kohana, returned the smile and squeezed her hand with her ghostly one.

"Soon we'll see mommy and daddy." Kohana replied and Kaoru nodded with that same smile on her face.

"Uh-huh! I promise that I'll lead them to where they need to go and so that _they'll_ never find out what's going on!" Kaoru said proudly before Kohana gave her sad smile and disappeared. Kaoru swallowed her tears before going back to her bed and climbing under the covers. She began to sob softly until she felt someone sit down her bed and hand was placed on her head. Kaoru looked up and saw Martia smiling down at her.

"Get some sleep, Kaoru-chan. You've had a big day. If you sleep I'll see if you can spend tomorrow with Mai-chan and Shibuya-san." Martia winked and Kaoru's eyes lit up at the mention of the two teenagers.

"Mr. Tea-man!" she said brightly before she closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly and Martia smiled before she left the cot and moved through the other cots that had sleeping children on them.

* * *

Mai's eyes opened slowly. She hadn't dreamt and she had been thankful. She didn't think she would ever be able to dream again after realizing that she had almost died the last time she dreamt. She sat up and saw with wide eyes that Naru had fallen asleep at the desk while using his arms as a pillow.

Mai rolled her eyes. Naru was the worst workaholic that she had ever met in her life. She took the second cover that he had placed on her after she had fallen asleep. She took the cover and put it around his shoulders and she knelt beside him and studied him face as he slept.

She wondered how a man could look so angelic and be so evil at the exact same time. She sighed before she straightened up and stared down at the black haired man that was sleeping. She wanted to brush his bangs out of his eyes but she knew better. With her luck he would wake up and catch her and she didn't want that. Not until she figured out why he had acted so strange when she almost died. She still couldn't figure out why he acted so…human.

She turned back and sat down on her cot. She pulled the cover over her legs as the breeze coming in through the broken window was cool. She realized that the base must have been the only room cleaned of glass beside the dining room where she knew everyone else was sleeping. She twisted the cover in her hands and looked back at her sleeping boss.

"Do you care? Do you realize how much it hurts?" Mai whispered to the sleeping man before back at her knees as tears threatened to spill. "No, of course not. You don't care about anyone but yourself, do you?" she whispered to herself as the tears fell onto the cover on her knees.

"If that was true then why was I holding your body while you were dying? If I'm so selfish then wouldn't I have let you die by yourself?" Mai's head snapped up to see Naru standing there with fire in his eyes. Mai stood up to face the man as she didn't want to seem as though she was just going to sit there and take his harsh words again.

"Well, if you hadn't noticed…I'm _not _dead! So you didn't need to worry!!" she snapped and she saw his mouth tighten angrily at her short tone. She blinked back tears and forced herself to not let any tears spill. She continued to meet his eyes before suddenly Naru closed his and she could see his jaw moving as he ground his teeth. She waited patiently for him to return the insult.

"Of course _not_. I didn't need to worry when you weren't breathing for nearly twenty-four hours. I didn't need to worry when your heart stopped beating. I didn't need to give a damn about you!" Mai gasped as he grabbed her and shook her hard. "I didn't have to care because I'm a narcissist? I didn't have to care because you're the assistant?! Damn it, Mai, do you think I have no heart?"

"Certainly could have fooled me! Do you ever sleep in a bed or is your desk the choice of a sleeping place?" she snapped back at him angrily and she shook his hands off her shoulders as she glared up at him.

"Well, just remind not to catch you next time you fall down a manhole or shield you when a ceiling decides to fall on you." he growled and Mai felt tears in her eyes as he turned away from her.

"Naru…that's not…" Mai trailed off as Naru pulled his coat on and turned to look at her angrily.

"Not what you meant? Yeah, I believe that. I tried to protect you, I'm going to guess it wasn't enough." he said coolly before leaving the room and Mai rushed to the door and scowled.

"Like I even asked you to!!" she cried before he disappeared and she slumped against the door before sliding down to the floor. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks as the candlelight flickered on the walls and she buried her head in her knees as sobs escaped her throat. She began to choke.

'I screwed up. He hates me now. I just know it.' she thought as she sobbed into her knees not even bothering to move.

* * *

It was raining when Naru stepped outside. He stood still as it poured down on him before he began to walk down the dirt road that led to the orphanage. His feet sunk slightly into the now muddy road but he paid no attention. The only thing on his mind was the anger that he currently felt towards Mai. He wasn't even sure why he was so angry at the girl.

Maybe it was because of what they had said to each other. Maybe it was because of how she had accused him of not caring. Didn't he care through saving her life countless times? Or had she forgotten all that. Naru growled at himself. He shouldn't be getting so worked up about one stupid girl!

'_You don't care about anyone but yourself, do you?_' he closed his eyes as her hurt voice echoed in his head even though she hadn't been speaking to him when she had said it. She had thought that he had been asleep. He looked up at the rainy sky and felt the water hitting his face as he watched the stormy sky above him and he closed his eyes.

"I haven't for a long time, Mai. I haven't cared for someone else since I was fifteen." he whispered. 'There's just one problem. She thinks you're a heartless bastard and a jerk. And there's nothing I can do to prove otherwise.'

Naru turned his head back downwards before continuing on the road away from the orphanage. He needed time to think things through. How was he supposed to be around Mai when the woman hated him? He disappeared into the shadows of the trees and didn't notice the blonde haired girl in a bloody kimono watching him closely.

"_Please help me_." she whispered before she disappeared from sight as thunder shook the whole orphanage.

* * *

Mai: They haven't quit yet. _dodges flying drumstick_ Take the drumsticks away!! Please...oh, an review!! Ouch!! _hit by a drumstick_ Please...


	6. Chapter 6

Kieno: Welcome to chapter six!! _dodges a flying coffee cup_ Excuse me! _throws pillow at black haired man_

Naru: That was supposed to hit me? She doesn't own us. _throws a book_

Mai: Here we go again. R and R. I'm going to go hide now!

* * *

Chapter 6

Mai had relocated to the cot and was waiting for Naru to return. She was slightly wet from the rain that had been blown in but she didn't notice. She twisted her skirt in her hands. She promised herself that she wouldn't worry about him since they seemed to have thrown any chances of being friends out the window. But that didn't stop Mai from worrying. She stood up and went to the window and stood there letting the rain soak her as she stared out the window.

"Naru…" she whispered softly as she put her hand to her mouth. She couldn't believe what they had done. What she had done. Her harsh words rang in her ears and she let her head dropped. She wouldn't blame him if he never looked at her again.

"Mai-chan? Goodness, you're soaked through!!" Mai squeaked as Martia grabbed and led her to one of the many bathrooms. The woman shoved her in with a towel and a clean nightgown. "Dry off and put that on! I came to check on you and I certainly didn't expect you to be soaked."

"It's alright, Martia. I wasn't that wet long and besides I could barely move after I woke up." Mai called through the door as she pulled the gown over her head and she smiled at the warmth that engulfed her with it. She pulled the fabric up to her nose and breathed in deeply.

"I know…but where did Naru go? He shouldn't have left you there alone!" Martia snapped angrily when Mai came out and handed her the wet clothes. Mai looked down at the floor as Martia angrily grumbled about how Naru had left Mai in the room alone so shortly after she had woken up.

"We…we had a fight. He left so that he could cool off. I said…some pretty harsh things to him. He didn't deserve some of the things that I said." she replied and she felt Martia wrap her arm around her and she looked up at the older woman.

"Such is the heart of teenagers. Come on, you can sleep with Kaoru, she'll be thrilled to death when she wakes up to see that her favorite person is sleeping beside her." Martia said and Mai smiled before she went to the dining room and the cot that Kaoru was curled up on. Mai lay down beside her and wrapped her arms around the sleeping child before falling asleep as well.

"_Kaoru-chan! Kaoru!_" Kaoru's eyes snapped open at the sound of her sister's voice. The child noticed that Mai was sound asleep beside her and carefully the child climbed away from Mai and followed the sound of her sister's voice. She found her double in a kimono standing outside the main doors in the rain. Kaoru stayed inside with the door open so she wouldn't get wet. Martia would know instantly that she had been outside.

"Big sister, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?" Kaoru asked and Kohana shook her head and Kaoru saw that she was shaking. Kaoru looked at her curiously before Kohana shook her head.

"Shibuya-san went into the forest! He's getting close to where we are buried. I'm afraid that our…_caretakers_ are going to find out that he's there and they're going to try and get rid of him so that he doesn't find out what's wrong." Kohana said and Kaoru felt her eyes widen.

"I know!! Mrs. Martia may get mad but we have to stop him until they break the curse!!" Kaoru ran out into the rain and in the forest with Kohana following her closely. She saw Naru through the trees and she looked to Kohana who nodded before she disappeared. Kaoru sat down against a tree and closed her eyes. She held back a whimper as she felt her ankle breaking like it had years ago. She sat there before she saw Naru again.

"MR. TEA-MAN!! MR. TEA-MAN!!" she screamed and she saw Naru turn towards her before walking quickly to her.

"Kaoru, what are you doing out here?" Naru had finally started to calm down after his confrontation with Mai. He couldn't believe the anger he had been directing at her. He never got angry. Anger was an emotion. And emotions were not something he did. He was not an emotional person…except when he was around Mai. He lost his careful control when he was around the girl.

"I don't know. I wanted to come to the forest and I tripped. My ankle hurts." she whimpered. She gave a yelp of surprise when Naru gently touched her ankle. He sighed before picking her up and she wrapped her arms around him. She watched as the place that she had been buried disappeared from sight and she laid her head on Naru's wet shoulder and she noticed briefly before falling asleep that it had stopped raining once he left the forest.

"I hope Mai didn't put you up to this…" Naru murmured to himself as he entered the house. He sighed down at the injured child in his arms. He couldn't see Mai telling the girl to go into the forest to find him. Mai hadn't thought it important enough to go after him so why would she send a child that she obviously cared for after him? The answer was simple. She wouldn't.

"Martia?" Naru nudged the older woman awake and she blinked up at him for a moment before she shot up from her chair when she realized that he held an injured Kaoru in his arms and she shook her head.

"I believe she came looking for me on her own. She tripped in the forest and fell and hurt her ankle." Naru said and Martia rolled her eyes before taking Kaoru and putting on the chair and gently examining the swollen ankle. Naru noticed that the sun was beginning to rise and he realized that he hadn't slept at all. He shook his head as his eyes drooped. He shouldn't let Mai get to him so easily.

"What?" he turned around as Mai's voice interrupted his thought and he saw that she was watching Martia and Kaoru as the older woman began to gently shake Kaoru into consciousness. Unfortunately, hurt or not, Kaoru was still a five year old. And five year olds did not like to get up at all.

"This silly child went after Naru in that forest. I've lost count how many times I've told the children to stay away from that blasted forest. It's dangerous!" Martia said as Kaoru whined and pulled away from Martia's probing hands as she tried to awaken the girl. The older woman sight.

"Why did she go after you?" Mai questioned and Naru felt his eyes narrow. What was this girl implying? He kept the growl from exiting his chest. The damned girl was testing him every which way possible that she could find! Was she so determined to make him kill her?

"Is that so hard to believe, Ms. Taniyama, that someone would find it imperative that they search for me?" he snapped and he saw Mai's eyes widen as his words pierced her brain.

"N-Naru…" she stuttered. She suddenly realized that she had hit a sore spot when she saw the angry glint in his eyes. She saw his eyes narrow even further when she said his nickname and she was becoming afraid that he was never going to forgive her after the words that she had yelled at him.

"Stop calling me that. You are my employee and I expect a little respect. I have let you be too informal with me. Stay here with Kaoru-chan and I'll go find Lin and see if he has recorded anything, alright, Ms. Taniyama?" he said coldly and Mai could feel tears in her eyes as she managed to nod. She didn't notice as he walked past her as she kept her head bent.

"I wish I had stayed asleep." she whispered and Naru went cold and he stopped and looked at her. He frowned before reaching out and grabbing her shoulder and her head shot up like a bullet and her brown eyes met his and he let her go. He blinked before he turned away and walked off.

"If you have a death wish then by all means…stay asleep." he said before he disappeared and Mai could feel her eyes widen again before the tears did fall. She bent her head before running up the steps and to the room that she and the girls had occupied. She pulled her suitcase out from underneath the bed and began to pack her things before someone cleared their throat and she looked over her shoulder to see Masako standing there.

"What are you doing, Mai?" Masako asked and Mai frowned before she slammed the lid of her suitcase shut and she wiped her eyes as tears continued to flow from her eyes and she heard Masako breath in.

"I'm sick of this! I'm sick of Naru!" Mai whispered before she fell onto the bed and buried her head into her hands and let it out. She jumped slightly as she felt arms wrap around her and she buried her head against Masako's shoulder and sobbed.

"Why does he hate me so much? What did I do? I mean he treats you with kindness and respect. But all I get is 'Tea, Mai' or 'You're an idiot, Mai'! I'm tired of it! I don't want to do this anymore! You can have him!" Mai stood up and grabbed her suitcase and almost made it to the door before Ayako blocked her from exiting.

"I don't know where you think you're going." Ayako said and Mai turned back to look at Masako as she cleared her throat. Mai let Masako take the suitcase as she stumbled back into Ayako.

"I know he's an idiot. And I wish that I could have him in the way that I want but I can't. He doesn't see me the way that he sees you. He…pays more attention to you than anyone else." Masako said and Mai felt her knees give out and she hit the ground and both Masako and Ayako were at her side as she sobbed into her hands.

"If calling me an 'idiot' is your idea of a term of endearment then you've got a weird sense of love." Mai managed and she heard Masako laugh and she looked up startled and the psychic gave her a smile and Mai returned it.

"Alright, why don't you go wash your face and we'll help fix breakfast for all those hungry brats downstairs that want food." Ayako said happily. Mai was able to return the smile and Masako accompanied her to the bathroom and rubbed her face with a wet washcloth.

"Mai, listen closely. You can't let Naru get to you. Besides…he's a boy. We can't expect him to understand females, can we?" Masako said and Mai gave her a bright smile and nodded.

* * *

Naru was slightly surprised when all the monitors kicked back on and the lights turned on overhead. He sighed before looking back down at the folder in his hands. He was trying desperately to forget the look on Mai's face when she had told him that she would have preferred to stay asleep. He couldn't believe her! She would rather be dead?

'Fine! Let her die! If she doesn't care enough then fine!' he thought as he slammed the folder down on the table. He growled as he put a hand to his forehead. She shouldn't be in his mind so much! She was his assistant! He couldn't think about her as it was very dangerous. Especially to his sanity and his health. He didn't want her to be on his mind and he wanted her gone since she was already there.

* * *

Naru was very confused when he found himself standing in the main hallway of the house. The last thing he remembered was being in the base. He rubbed his forehead and sighed. His eyes picked up on everything and he realized that the room wasn't the same as the one that he had walked through several times. He looked around and saw lights floating around before they began to disappear and Naru looked up and felt his eyes widen when he saw that he was looking into eyes that mirrored his own.

"Hello, Noll." the other man said and Naru felt his eyes widen and he took in a deep breath as he didn't dare believe what he thought was going on.

"Gene…" he whispered. They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Naru was beginning to wonder why Gene was there in what he recognized was the astral plane that Mai must have projected onto. But had she met his twin? She never said anything about it. Naru studied Gene before suddenly his world was tilted and he landed on the floor and he looked up at his brother before suddenly Gene had him by the collar of his shirt.

"What the hell was that for?!" Naru growled and he saw Gene's eyes narrow dangerously and Naru jerked away while rubbing his jaw where Gene's fist had hit, he didn't know that ghosts could hit so damned hard! And he wondered where Gene had learned to punch so hard. Did he practicing fighting as he had nothing else to do?

"That? _That_ was for sending Mai-chan to me every time you make her cry! Do you know how many times I have to hold her while she's crying. And it's all thanks to you, the idiotic scientist! Here's some advice….she's a human and humans tend to have emotions." Gene snapped and Noll felt his mouth turn downwards, this wasn't what he had thought their first conversation would be after they saw each other again.

"She's an employee of mine, Gene. It doesn't matter. She shouldn't get attached." Naru said before grunting as Gene hit him again and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt again. He met Gene's cold eyes and Naru had a feeling that they looked exactly alike now. They remained quiet for a moment.

"Then next time she shows up crying I won't let you have her back so easily, understand?" he said softly and Naru felt his eyes widen and before he knew what was happening he had pushed Gene to the floor and was glaring down at his older brother.

"You were the reason she wasn't breathing for twenty-four damned hours?!" Naru growled as Gene stood back up and Naru saw his older brother stand back up.

"You heard me. Get out!" he growled and Naru's head suddenly shot up and he found himself in the base again. He tested his jaw gently and he groaned as it was sore and he realized that somehow Gene had transferred his punch from the grave. Naru looked up as the door opened and in walked Mai.

"Naru, breakfast is ready!" she said as he stood up and he saw her hands fly to her mouth.

"I'll be down in a minute, Mai." he told her as he gathered the papers back into his folder as he had sent them flying when he had woken up.

"I'm sorry about calling you 'Naru'! I mean you told me to call you 'Shibuya-san' and everything. But habits die hard and I didn't mean to call you that…" Mai's voice suddenly stopped when Naru looked up. "Wait a minute…you called me 'Mai'!" she cried and he nodded.

"I was rude and I'm sorry for treating you as such." he went to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him with those brown eyes and he felt something in him break, maybe it was the wall holding his self control. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

Mai couldn't believe that he was kissing her! She forced herself not to think about it and wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the pressure of his kiss. She gasped as the kiss turned passionate. She felt as though it were a dream but the firm grip around her waist assured her that it wasn't. She was completely breathless when Naru finally pulled away and she was surprised to see that his face was flushed and his breathing was heavy as well.

"Mai…" he whispered as he studied her flushed face. He wanted to kiss her again but he knew that he couldn't. He took a deep breath. "We can't do this."

"Why? Why can't you just let go, Naru? Why do you always have to be in control?" Mai asked and she saw Naru close his eyes and she could see the control slip back in place and she could feel the tears in her eyes and she blinked them back stubbornly.

"Because…you're my employee and I am your employer. We cannot have a relationship, Mai." he whispered before he turned and walked away from her and she watched him before she ran to the door.

"How can something like that matter?? Why does it matter?!" she cried and she saw him turn around as he headed down the hallway.

"It's _wrong_, Mai. You have to understand that." he told her before he disappeared and Mai stumbled back into the room and landed on the cot and cried into her hands.

"How can something be wrong when it feels right?" she whispered softly and Mai laid back onto the bed and curled up as she stayed there before she felt something suddenly hug her and she froze when she saw that no one was there.

"_It'll be alright. Kaoru-chan will be here._" Mai watched as a child that looked identical to Kaoru appeared in a kimono hugging Mai. Mai closed her eyes and fell asleep into a dream that held no Naru and nothing except darkness.

"Kohana?!" Kaoru ran into the room and saw that her sister had her arms wrapped around Mai.

"_I can't hold her any longer! They're taking her soul!_" Kohana sobbed and Kaoru sat down on the floor hard. Mai was a target.

* * *

Mai: _dodges flying chair and then dodges a flying vase_ Please...review...and get these lunatics away from me!! STOP THAT!! THAT'S MY CAT!!_ attempts to take cat away from author_


	7. Chapter 7

I apologize for the late update but I hope this helps with that. And I would like to know how many of you would object if I changed the rating to 'M' and put a very…um _intense_ kiss between our favorite couple in the last chapter. Please leave answer in review!

Kieno: _mouth is muffled by duct tape_

Naru: _mouth also muffled_

_Both are tied in chairs._

Mai: DON'T TOUCH MY CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, Kieno doesn't own us!!

* * *

Chapter 7

Naru sat in the men's bedroom and on his bed that he had yet to sleep in. He had looked in the mirror as he entered the room and could see the bruise forming on his jaw. Gene had never hit him before. Of course there hadn't been a Mai before. Naru closed his eyes to fight back the flare of desire that coursed through his blood as he remembered their very intimate kiss. She had been so willing to be with him but he couldn't let her. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

'I can't let this affect me. This is a case not a time to be imagining what can't be with Mai.' Naru told himself as he sat there and ran his hands through his hair. He could see her injured eyes as he told her that they couldn't be in a relationship. He had brushed her off and watched as the light in her eyes dimmed.

'_Why can't you just let go, Naru? Why do you always have to be in control?_' her voice echoed in his head and he breathed deeply. Losing control was dangerous for him and it meant that he was human. Naru wanted to be numb to human emotions. He no longer wanted to feel them because it meant pain that he didn't want.

What if they did become involved? What if something happened to her and he wasn't able to save her? What if she got hurt? How would he be able to cope with it? He would never forgive himself if she got hurt and he hadn't been able to stop it. A flash of her lying somewhere hurt and dying entered his brain and he shook his head. He would _not_ think of what was never going to be.

'We can't be together…we can never be together and Mai knows that.' Naru told himself. The real question was if he wasn't even convinced then why should she be? If he wanted something so badly then why couldn't she want that same thing? He shook his head and stood from his bed. He sighed softly before he went to his table where he had placed the folder.

"MR. TEA-MAN!! MR. TEA-MAN!!!" Naru's head snapped up as Kaoru came barreling into the room. She was looking scared and upset and Naru noticed that she wasn't even limping. He frowned for a moment trying to figure out why she was able to walk before he turned his attention back to the frightened face that was staring up at him. He could worry about her 'injury' later.

"What is it, Kaoru-chan?" he asked and the girl shook her head and he realized that she was unable to talk as tears were pouring down her cheeks. He hesitantly took her into his arms and her chubby arms wrapped around his neck as she sobbed into his shoulder as he stayed kneeled in front of the sobbing girl.

"Mai-chan!! She's passed out again! And…and someone…..someone said that it was a ghost's fault!" Kaoru whined and Naru felt himself go cold. He reached out with his mind and found Gene hovering near. Though how Gene was still 'awake' was a mystery. The older twin snapped angrily that it wasn't him and Naru felt his mind go cold. Something else was causing Mai to return to the ghost world.

Naru took Kaoru to the base where Mai was now unconscious again. Kaoru gently disentangled herself and went over to Mai and crawled up against her. Naru clenched his jaw angrily. He was tired of seeing Mai unconscious all the damned time!! He went over to her and touched her face, she wasn't cold. He put his ear to her mouth, she was breathing. He frowned. This wasn't the same as what Gene had done.

"Mai, come on, wake up." Naru whispered softly as he gently shook her. This was familiar. He growled softly as he pulled Mai up and her head fell back limply and he closed his eyes. He felt Kaoru touch his arm and he looked at the child who looked so upset and sad.

"Kohana-chan wants to talk to you." Kaoru whispered and Naru frowned. Who was Kohana? Kaoru gave him a small smile before he watched as a mirror image of Kaoru appeared beside her from where she had stood when Naru began to shake Mai. The ghost was dressed in a kimono and had blood all over her face and her kimono and Naru realized that this girl, though her appearance to Kaoru was startling, was dead.

"I know what's happening. The people that killed me are trying to take Mai-chan's soul so that they can pass on." Kohana said and Naru felt what little blood he had left in his face drain. Was it Mai's goal to die on this case or was it his imagination this time?

"Can you stop it?" he asked quietly and Kohana shook her head and he watched as she approached them and gently touched Mai's forehead with her ghostly hand and Naru felt a pang. Would Mai do that to him and the rest of the SPR if she died? He held her hand tightly and trying to keep her from slipping away from them.

"No…but I know someone that can." Kohana answered and Naru looked at her sharply. If she knew how to save her then why wasn't she trying to save her? Naru wondered what the ghost child was up to and why she hadn't shown herself earlier. He sighed softly before looking back at Mai and he nodded to signal for her to go on.

"You." he looked at her startled and Kohana sighed. "I can send you to the plane that she's on but only for thirty minutes and then I have to bring you back. I'm not as strong as they are but I know that you can bring her back. I just know it." Kohana seemed convinced that Naru could do it.

"Fine." Naru agreed. Normally he would ask questions and think it through. But when Mai and the edge of death were involved he wasn't able to think to clearly. He found that he really had no desire to think quickly when it involved Mai because one moment of over thinking something could allow her to slip away from him. He tightened his hold on her hand. He wouldn't let her slip away.

"Thirty minutes. That's all I can give you." Kohana whispered before he jerked as he felt and icy coldness seep through his other hand. He looked down and saw that Kohana had taken his hand and he felt the coldness spread through his body before his lids grew heavy and his head landed on the pillow next to Mai's.

"Are you sure this is the only way?" Kaoru asked and Kohana nodded sadly as she studied the two unconscious teenagers.

* * *

Mai felt cold and alone. She whimpered and pulled her knees against her chest and kept her arms wrapped around her knees as she sat in the dark with her eyes closed as she tried not to cry. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the base and this certainly didn't feel like one of _those_ dreams. Naru hadn't shown up yet and it was so dark and cold! She felt the suppressed tears making their way down her cheeks.

'Naru…help me…someone…please help.' she prayed silently before someone was pulling at her hands and her head shot up and she felt her eyes widen in surprise when she saw it was Naru. Not dream Naru but real Naru and she blinked in confusion.

"Naru?" she whispered and he nodded before he looked over his shoulder and she felt her eyes widen as the darkness melted away into the main hall of the orphanage. She clung to his hand as he helped her up and she didn't let go. He didn't seem to mind as his hand tightened even more around hers.

"We have to find a way to wake up. And as this is my first time in…a _state _like this…I'm going blind trying to figure this out." he replied and he felt her draw closer to him until she was hugging his arm and he looked down at her surprised. He tightened his grip on her hand before she started to walk towards the stairs.

"I don't know how to wake up. It was never a problem before and I never worried because…because I was always investigating." Mai whispered and Naru closed his eyes. She put her life in danger to investigate for him? Why didn't he feel more pleased about the fact that she was working when she was asleep?

"Kohana said that we only had thirty minutes to get out of here." he whispered and he saw Mai's eyes widen in surprise and understanding before narrowing in confusion as she obviously didn't recognize the name that he had spoken.

"Who is Kohana?" she asked and he shook his head. She frowned in confusion and she had no idea who Kohana was. She knew all the orphans. And none of them were name Kohana that she knew. At least she didn't think that any of them were named Kohana unless Martia had gotten a new orphan and hadn't introduced them. Mai felt slightly angry that Martia hadn't introduced them if she had taken in a new orphan.

"She's a ghost, Mai." he said and Mai blinked. A ghost? Naru had actually talked to a ghost?! Then the image of Kaoru in a kimono covered with blood flashed through her mind and she gulped.

"Did she look like Kaoru and was she wearing a blood-stained kimono?" she asked and Naru just nodded and Mai realized that they were headed to the base room. Even though he said he didn't know what he was doing he was still taking charge. Mai tried to not scowl angrily. She wondered how he just knew where to go.

"Mai, quit scowling at me. There's nothing else that I can do. I told you we only have thirty minutes to get out of here." he pulled on her harder and she stumbled up the stairs as he dragged her and she pulled to a halt as they reached the top of the steps.

"You don't have to drag me! I have two legs, you know!" she snapped. She rubbed her hand after she had pulled it away from him. She could just see the bruise that would be on her wrist in the next few days. Didn't Naru know the meaning of being gentle at all?

"Well excuse me if I have no desire to die." he snapped back and Mai resisted the urge to slap him.

"Well maybe I do!! Maybe I have no desire to live!" she snapped and she saw his lips tighten and his eyes narrow. She winced as he grabbed her arms and shook her extremely hard.

"You should probably think about the others before you just make the decision that you want to die! They might miss you." he said scathingly. Mai dropped her head as she was no able longer to look him in the eyes. He just didn't get it, did he? Why couldn't he understand what she was trying to tell him?

"They might, but would you? Would you even miss me?" she whispered angrily and she didn't mean for him to hear her but he heard her very well and she gasped as his hands tightened even more on her arms and her head snapped up.

"Dammit, haven't I proven anything to you, Mai?" he demanded and she gulped. He sighed as he realized that she didn't understand. He knew Mai wasn't stupid, no matter how much he may have said so, but he had to tell her outright what he meant.

"Mai…I'm not good at words, you should be the first one to know that." Naru never got to finish as there was a sudden blast that shook the whole house and both teenagers were thrown to the floor and Mai cried out as she hit the floor hard and she heard Naru groan from where he had landed beside her. She crawled over to him and gasped when she saw blood trailing down his face from his hairline.

"Naru!!" she cried and she watched as he sat up and put his hand against the small cut and he felt blood staining his finger and he put more pressure on the cut until Mai's hand joined his and he looked at her and he saw that she was worried.

"_GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE!!!!!_" a voice screamed and both teenagers looked down the hallway and saw a woman dressed in a kimono with a small pistol in her hands. Mai felt her heart drop as the house began to shake again. Mai cried out as Naru pushed her out of the way as the gun went off.

Mai groaned before she opened her eyes and she felt her eyes widen when she saw Naru on top of her before he looked over his shoulder again and she saw the woman heading for them. Mai cried out as Naru jerked her to her feet and she followed him as they ran to the base. She saw the door open and the Kaoru duplicate kimono girl was standing waving at them frantically.

"Hurry! You have to hurry!!" Kohana cried before Mai cried out as something grabbed her ankle and she fell to the floor and she looked back and saw that a hand had come up through the floor and grabbed her ankle. Mai groaned as her ankle was throbbing before the hand began to drag her back towards the woman with the gun and she screamed.

"Let go!! Let me go!!" she struggled as hard as she could before suddenly Naru was pulling her away and pushing her to the now glowing base and Mai looked at Naru as they stopped at the Naru.

"Go." he whispered and she frowned as she saw that the gun was aimed at Naru and she looked at him suddenly understanding what he was doing. He pushed her into the base as the gun went off and she gasped.

"NARU!!!" she screamed as the last thing she saw was Naru falling to the floor before everything went black and she felt tears on her cheeks.

* * *

Mai's eyes snapped open and she sat up before she looked at the body beside her and she saw Naru. She gasped as she remembered what happened. Naru hitting the floor after the bang that emitted from the gun. She reached out and began to shake Naru as hard as she could before she buried her head against his shoulder and sobbed.

"Please, oh god, please…wake up. I'm begging…" she sobbed before she pulled back and her eyes widened. 'Is this what it felt like? Is this what you felt when I wouldn't wake up, Naru?' Mai thought before she gently brushed his face.

"Please, don't die. I'm sorry I said all those awful things…I really didn't understand, did I?" she whispered. She felt worry eating away at her while she waited for Naru to wake up and hoping that he would eventually do so.

"You never understand." came a groggy reply and Mai watched with widened eyes as Naru sat up rubbing his head where the cut had been. Mai could hardly believe that he was alright. She had been convinced that the bullet had hit Naru and caused him to fall to the floor.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!!!!" she screamed as she tackled him and wrapped her arms around Naru's throat and refused to let go. Naru tried to pry Mai off but had no luck. She wasn't letting him go and he sat there as she held onto him tightly until finally she pulled back and he saw the smile that was on her face.

"I saw that bullet hit! How are you alive?" she cried and he frowned. He wasn't exactly sure how he was alive either. He remembered a searing pain in the middle of his back before he landed on the floor. The only reason he could come up with being alive was that he had landed in the base before he 'died' and was able to return to his 'human' form. And he told Mai as much.

"I'm sorry I was so mean earlier. I really was out of line with what I said. It really is scary when you think you're going to lose someone and there's nothing that you can do." she whispered softly and Naru put his hand on her head and she looked up at him and he sighed.

"Glad you finally saw the truth." he said and Mai sighed. Of course he wouldn't say something that would comfort her for something she said. He undoubtedly thought that she deserved her guilt. Of course he would. Mai shook her head mentally, if he didn't do things like that then he wouldn't be Naru, would he?

"No thanks to you." she taunted and she saw him frown angrily before she realized that Kaoru was nowhere to be seen. She scrambled of the cot and Naru followed her off the cot.

"Where's Kaoru?" Mai asked and she saw Naru frown. She realized that he didn't know why Kaoru wasn't in the room. Mai could feel a seed of worry starting in the pit of her stomach and she began to become frantic. She was usually right when she had such feelings.

"Naru, something's wrong. I just know it. We have to find her!" Mai cried and Naru frowned before nodding. Usually Mai could tell when someone was in trouble, having been in it enough during her time working for him, and he knew that he had to trust her. If she said something was wrong about Kaoru missing then chances were that something was wrong.

"AAAHHHH!!" Mai gasped at the sound of a scream. Her heart dropped as she recognized the scream.

"KAORU!!" Mai ran out of the room with Naru hot on her heels. He knew better than to let Mai go anywhere in a haunted house by herself. He just knew that the ghosts, whoever they were, would do whatever they could to injure Mai. And he knew that Mai wouldn't even know that it was coming. Naru wondered how the girl could be so unaware of the world around her when she was so focused.

"Kaoru! Kaoru!!" Mai finally reached the child's room and tugged on the closed door but she found that door was stuck. She heard Kaoru pounding on the other side of the door and she turned to look at Naru as he finally caught up to her and she saw the glare that he was giving her but she knew that they didn't have enough time to argue over her running off and not telling him a single thing and forcing him to follow her with no explanation.

"Naru, the door's stuck! We have to get her out of there!" Mai begged and Naru just nodded before he went over to the door and he could hear Kaoru beating on the door frantically.

"Kaoru, listen closely. You need to step away from the door so I can kick it in." Naru said calmly and he heard Kaoru sniffle before she called that she was out of the way. He quickly kicked the door in and he and Mai rushed in and what they caused them both to freeze. The room was covered in blood.

"Oh, god. What happened?" Mai whispered as she knelt down and hugged Kaoru who was also covered in blood.

"I came in here to change clothes and then the walls started bleeding and then…I tried to open the door and it was stuck…and I was so scared!" Kaoru sobbed and Mai rubbed her up and down on the back.

"It's alright." Mai whispered before suddenly the whole house began shaking and Mai looked up alarmed at Naru. Naru frowned before looking over his shoulder and into the hallway and saw the light flickering and his eyes widened before he looked back down at Mai as she knelt on the floor.

"NARU!! MAI!! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!" Takigawa's voice called and Mai looked up at Naru confused before the house began to creak. She looked up at the ceiling startled and saw that it was beginning to crack. She looked at Naru again surprised before the creaking grew even more and she began to stand with Kaoru in her arms.

"NARU!!" Mai screamed before something hit her in the head and everything went black as the house collapsed on top of all of them.

* * *

Kieno: _gets out of bonds_ Alright, please review.

Naru: _breaks free and throws rope at Kieno_

Kieno: DIE!!!

Mai: _sighs_ Please review. I give up.


	8. Chapter 8

If I change the rating, it will be for the last chapter or next to last chapter. And this isn't it. Not that there isn't a lot of fluff here!

Kieno: Ahem.

Naru: NO!

Kieno: Ahem. AHEM!

Naru: Forget it!!

Kieno: _holds Mai's cat out_ You're the one that tried to throw him at me! You can give him back!

Naru: Fine. _grumbles before taking the cat back to Mai and Kieno's face goes red as Mai tackles Naru_

Kieno: Um…._puts hands over eyes_

Cat: Meow. Meow, mrow! (Translation: Kieno doesn't own Mai or Naru or any other Ghost Hunt characters and review!)

* * *

Chapter 8

Mai felt as though she had a house on top of her. Wait a minute. She _did _have a house on top of her. She shifted slightly and opened her eyes. She realized hat she could only see a few inches in front of her face and what she saw was a wooden beam. She groaned and shifted slightly and felt something across her stomach. She realized that it was a very heavy wooden beam.

"Uh…" Mai groaned as she pushed at the beam until she could finally wriggle her way out from underneath it. She curled her feet underneath her and sat in the darkness shivering. Her shirt was torn and so was her skirt. Mai could just imagine how she looked with cuts all over her body and she could feel the stickiness of her blood as some of them oozed.

'I am going to need to take a shower so badly after this it won't even be funny.' Mai couldn't help but think as she sat there shivering. Why was it so cold? She moved slightly and she gasped as a something fell and made a loud bang. She hoped that the others were looking for them.

'Oh, god! Naru!' Mai thought as suddenly she remembered her boss had been trapped under the debris as well. "NARU!! NARU, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" she screamed as loudly as she could. There was silence and Mai held her breath hoping for some sort of sound that would indicate where Naru had ended up.

"You don't have to scream." his voice came from the left of her location. She turned and squinted but wasn't able to see him.

"Naru, are you alright?" she called. 'Oh, please let him be okay. Please don't let him be hurt!' she prayed silently as she waited for him to answer. She began to fear that he wouldn't answer her at all.

"I've got a rather large beam on my lower half but other than not being able to move…I'm fine." she could hear the sarcasm in his voice and she was thankful for it. She had never thought she would be so glad to hear that sarcasm before in her entire time of knowing him.

"Keep talking…I'm going to try and crawl over there!" Mai said and she heard him sigh before he started talking. She didn't pay attention to what he was saying. She wondered why she was still wearing skirts to work when her skirt got caught on a piece of wood. She pulled at the skirt and she felt it rip but when she felt the skirt she was glad to find that it hadn't ripped too badly.

"Mai…" she heard him say carefully. She knew he wondered why he had heard her stop moving. She began to crawl towards his voice before her hand touched his foot and she giggled as he moved his foot slightly.

"I thought you said you couldn't move." she teased gently. She knew that he wouldn't be in the best mood to be teased so she tried to keep it to a minimum.

"I can't move enough to get this stupid beam off of me." he snarled and she rolled her eyes before she crawled so that she was laying on her stomach beside the trapped teenager and she gently touched his forehead. If he asked later why she brushed his forehead she'd say that she got hit in the head. She pulled her hand back and saw she had blood on her fingers.

"Naru, you're bleeding." she whispered fearfully. She heard him groan before she gasped as his hand grabbed hers and he placed it on the part of his chest that wasn't covered by debris. She sought his eyes and felt tears welling in hers when she saw that his normally cold unemotional eyes were filled with pain.

"You're in pain." she whispered and she scooted even more until she was sitting beside his head. She ran her fingers through his hair gently. "You should have said something." she scolded gently.

"And what exactly can you do?" he asked and Mai frowned before she moved even more and Naru felt his head and shoulders being placed on something very soft and then he realized that he was looking up at Mai's face and was grateful for what little light there was and that he could see her face. At least he knew she was alright and she was moving around so that meant she was okay, right?

"You're comfortable, aren't you?" she asked and she felt him nod and she frowned. He must have been tired if he wasn't answering her verbally. "Get some rest, Naru. I'll wake you up if I hear anything. I mean we were on the third floor and we should be at the top of the debris. Though how we survived falling I won't know." Mai whispered before suddenly something else hit her.

"Oh, god! Kaoru!! KAORU!! KAORU, CAN YOU HEAR ME??" Mai cried and Naru bit his lips to keep from scolding the girl. He should be worried to but he could barely move thanks to those stupid beams. He waited for the child to make some sort of sound so that Mai could find the child but there was no sound.

"Kaoru?!" Mai cried again and once again no response. Naru heard Mai sniffle and he tightened his hand around hers that she hadn't moved away from his chest. The fact that Kaoru could be hurt seriously undoubtedly hurt Mai terribly.

"Maybe she was able to get out." Naru suggested even though he wasn't sure how the child would have been able to. But it calmed Mai down and she stopped sniffling and he was slightly relieved. The last thing that he needed was a hysterical Mai on his hands. He just hoped that Kaoru wasn't hurt to badly. He didn't want to think about what would happen to Mai if the girl was hurt badly.

"I hope so. Now get some rest, Naru. The last thing I want is to have to go to the hospital and watch you through the ICU window again." she said and he sighed before he looked at her startled.

"You watch me?" he asked and even though it was dark he could see her blush thanks to the small amount of light. He saw her turn her head away and he couldn't stop the smirk that spread across his face. Even though he was underneath a very large house he could still get a response out of Mai.

"I…well…um…you see…oh! Just go to sleep!" she snapped when he chuckled. She could feel her cheeks flaming. Why had she let her mouth loose? Had she actually thought that he wouldn't catch her slip of the tongue? She had hoped so but she had been wrong. Naru never missed anything. She felt him shift in her lap and she tightened her hand that rested on his chest. She heard his breathing even out and she knew that he had either passed out or fallen asleep. She was hoping that he had just fallen asleep.

She stayed in the quiet for what seemed like forever before she heard something moving above her. She tilted her head upwards and winced as her neck popped. She really needed to move. Mai had never been one to sit still. Ever. She hated being still and she knew that Naru knew that better than anyone else.

"MAI? NARU?" she knew that voice! It was Takigawa. He was looking for them and that meant the others were too!

"Naru, wake up! They found us! WE'RE DOWN HERE! TAKIGAWA, WE'RE DOWN HERE!!" she screamed as loudly as she could. She felt Naru jerk but she didn't apologize for yelling in his ear. The only thing on her mind was getting out of the debris and making sure that Naru was unharmed.

"HEY,THEY'RE OVER HERE!" she heard Takigawa yell. She heard a scraping sound and then something popped. She was soon looking up through about a foot long vertical tunnel to Takigawa's worried face. She gave a sigh of relief at the sight of the older man's face.

"Hey, Mai! You know when I suggested that you and Naru get a room I didn't intend for you to bring the house down." he joked and Mai felt her face flame a bright red. She was going to kill the monk after she had taken a shower. That was her first objective.

"Shut up! I need help. Naru's trapped by this huge beam from the house." she explained and Takigawa nodded before he turned away and Mai was soon sitting in her little area with Takigawa and Lin. Lin squeezed Mai's shoulder comfortingly and she nodded at him before she gently shook Naru's shoulder and she watched as his eyes opened.

"They found us, Naru. They're going to get that beam off and then we can get out of here." she said with a smile and he nodded. She gripped his hand as finally Lin said they were going to pull the beam off. She tightened her hand as they began to lift the beam. The only thing that Naru did as they were lifting was give such a soft groan that Mai wasn't sure if he even had groaned.

"Alright, Mai. We need to get Naru out first and I'll come back." Takigawa said and Mai nodded. She watched as the two men helped him up and Takigawa climbed up first before Lin pushed Naru up through and the younger man grabbed Takigawa's hand as Lin continued to push him up before following him and Mai stayed sitting as she waited. Soon Takigawa was helping her up and she winced as her ankle protested when she stood.

She forced herself to ignore it as she climbed through the tunnel before Lin grabbed her hand and pulled her out. She held onto him as she gained her balance before he let her go carefully and her ankle gave beneath her weight and she cried out as she began to fall before Lin caught her.

"You've sprained your ankle. Time to go see Ayako." Takigawa said as he followed Mai out. Lin nodded and picked Mai up and she saw that Masako and Martia were tending to the cut on his head and Mai winced as Lin sat her down in a tent that Martia had set up for the orphans to stay in.

Mai waited as Ayako picked her ankle up and tried to not wince as the woman prodded at the ankle before she wrapped it and put ice on it and propped it up on another chair. Mai watched as Martia and Masako helped Naru in and sat him down on the only cot in the tent and Ayako looked at Martia.

"I called my parents and they said you could use our old house until you were able to rebuild." Ayako said and Martia sighed in relief. "The house isn't very far from here so we'll be close enough to continue the investigation when you feel well enough, Naru." Ayako directed and Naru nodded as he kept a hand to his forehead.

"I'm sorry that you ended up losing all your equipment. I don't think I'll be able to pay you back." Martia said softly and Naru just nodded. He put pressure on the wound and winced. Martia had stitched the wound up and when Naru asked how she had learned to do so she had just smiled and said that she had spent enough time taking care of children and knew how to stitch thanks to it.

"Don't worry. I insured all my equipment after I had the fortune of having Mai destroy one of my cameras." Naru said and Mai glared at him. Of course when they had been trapped under a fallen building for who knows how long he would bring up the _one_ time that she had broken a camera. And she hadn't even been working for him at the time!

"Oh, I see. Well, I suppose that's a relief." Martia said as Ayako and the others exited the tent. Mai blinked as Kaoru came back to mind. Why was it getting so easy to forget the blonde haired child?

"Martia, have you found Kaoru yet?" Mai asked hopefully and she saw Martia frown before shaking her head.

"No. Unless she's trapped underneath the debris we haven't found her. And if she is trapped, her chances are very slim." Martia said and Mai felt her heart stop as the older lady left the tent with Mai and Naru alone together. Mai could feel the tears pricking the back of her eyes.

Naru could see the tears from his place on the cot. He gently, _very gently_, stood up from the cot and made his way over to where Mai was trying not to cry. He stood over her for a moment, holding his bruised ribs, before he knelt down by the chair low enough so that he could wrap his arms around her. If she asked later why he had done so he would say it was the pain. But the true reason was he had seen enough of Mai's tears and not comforting her.

"Why?" Mai sobbed into his shoulder as he held her. He couldn't answer her. He really couldn't answer her. He didn't know what had happened to Kaoru. He had a theory but his mind scurried away from the idea. He didn't want to think about the young girl being dead. He couldn't explain why he didn't want her to be hurt and then it hit him as though he had been punched in the gut. He had allowed himself to grow close to the child that had become friends with one of the ghosts.

Neither noticed the tent door open nor the child that entered quietly. The child watched them curiously before her face took on a disgusted look. Since when did Mai want to touch a guy?!

"EW!!" she squealed and the two teenagers immediately pulled away from each other and looked at the door and Mai felt her eyes widen as she stared into baby blue eyes that she had never thought that she would see again.

"KAORU!" she cried and pulled away from Naru and ran to the girl, her injured ankle making her limp in her hurry. She fell to her knees in front of the child and hugged her tightly before she pulled away when Kaoru said she couldn't breathe. Mai saw that the girl had cuts on her face and through her clothing but that was all it looked like that had harmed the girl.

"Where were you? Martia said that they hadn't found you yet!" Mai cried and Kaoru shrugged before she gave a bright smile and Naru frowned at Kaoru's cheerfulness. She was hurt. How could a child be so happy after escaping death so narrowly?

"I woke up in the forest and I followed the people's voices like Martia always told me to if I ever got lost in the forest. I saw the tent and thought maybe I could find someone. Glad I was right!" Kaoru said cheerfully. Mai managed a small smile before Ayako came in and scowled at the three.

"Sit down, Naru. Mai, you better sit down now! And Kaoru sit on that cot with Mai!" the other three did as they were told. Ayako's eyes were on fire and not even Naru felt as though he were up for the argument. His ribs wouldn't quit throbbing. He clutched at his side even more as the ribs continued to throb. He watched as Ayako bandaged Kaoru up even though the child refused to sit still.

Ayako stood up once she got finished before she turned to Naru, who had taken Mai's previous seat, and frowned at him. He frowned back at her. Why was she frowning at him? He had been nice and hadn't given her a hard time for ordering him around so why was she so upset at him?

"You're as pale as a sheet!" Ayako snapped and he jerked back. He gave her a look that said 'when do I ever have color' and she shook her head. "Okay, you're paler than normal." she snapped and he frowned before his ribs decided it was time to shoot pain through his body and both Ayako and Mai saw him wince. Kaoru had already fallen asleep.

"Naru!" Mai cried as he slumped down slightly. Ayako rolled her eyes before going over to the medicine kit and taking out aspirin and forcing it into Naru's hands and he looked up at her through his bangs. She bent down so that only he could hear her when she spoke.

"You take that medicine now. I don't want to see Mai crying over you again. I've sure as hell seen enough of that on this case. And if you make her cry again you can be sure that you wished you were still under that house. Do I make myself clear, Shibuya-san?" Ayako hissed and Naru tightened his lips until they were a very small line on his face before he replied.

"Crystal clear." he replied softly with a steel note in his voice. Ayako just frowned before she straightened up and walked out of the room and left Naru alone with a worried Mai. He placed the pills in his mouth and swallowed to where Mai could see and he saw her smile before she turned her attention to Kaoru and began to stroke the girl's head gently. Naru watched her silently. She was always good with children and knew how to calm them down.

'Why is he watching me? Do I have something on my face? Besides dirt that is. I mean I know I'm covered in dirt. But does he have to stare?!' she thought as she kept her eyes on Kaoru. She hesitantly reached a hand up to her cheek and began to rub.

Naru bit his lip to keep from laughing. It must have been the pain medication that was making him lose control. Mai was rubbing her cheek and had rubbed at a small speck of dirt and spread it just a little bit more around her face. Naru rolled his eyes before he forced himself to stand up, he was surprised when his ribs didn't complain he needed to find out what Ayako had given him, and he went over to Mai and pulled her hand away. Her head snapped up and their eyes met before he rubbed the dirt smudge away.

"You would do better if you had a mirror." he said and she began to sputter angrily before he headed for the door. He had work to do and he wanted to find out why that building collapsed on top of them and almost crushed them to death. It was the first time he'd heard of a ghost 'bringing the house down' so to speak.

"Where are you going?" Mai asked when Naru started towards the exit. Where did he think he was going? "If you go out there, Ayako will kill you! You're hurt and you need to rest!" Mai stood up in her anger and once again ignored the pain that shot through her ankle.

"Mai, I'm not an invalid." he snapped angrily. Who did she think she was talking to? He wasn't a child! And he certainly didn't appreciate being treated as though he was one. He certainly didn't look like the little boys that were outside playing baseball among the debris of their former home.

"No, but you are hurt and-" Mai's ankle decided to finally give out and she began to fall before Naru caught her and she felt her cheeks flaming. She looked up at him waiting for him to say something. She just knew he wasn't going to be able to let it go.

"You were saying? I don't think that I should be the one that you should be worrying about." he said and Mai scowled at him and he rolled his eyes. He should have expected for her to react like that. After all…she was Mai.

"You're still hurt!" Mai insisted and Naru sighed. She just wasn't going to give up. He was beginning to get an idea of why he had hired and now why he was wishing that he had given it more thought. But he had to admit to himself, and no one else mind you, that he enjoyed her company.

"Fine. I didn't want to do this." he said in a tight voice and Mai blinked. She was about to ask what he meant before she squealed as she was swept off her feet by him. Literally. Her arms went around his neck automatically and she felt him walking towards the cot and she frowned before she started wiggling as she was trying to get down and she heard him sigh agitatedly.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Trying to get down!! You're just as hurt as I am, you narcissistic numbskull!" she snapped at him angrily. She could feel her face flaming. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting so strangely? She decided it was the pain medication that Ayako had given him but she had just given him aspirin! He never acted so odd when he was in the hospital and on stronger medication and he never acted oddly.

"Can you walk without collapsing?" he asked coolly. She stopped struggling and gave him the worst look that he had ever seen. He had never seen the look on her face before and it was almost funny.

"Sure I can!!" Mai said indignantly and Naru frowned at her before she looked over his shoulder and refused to meet his eyes. "Eventually." she finished and Naru looked up at the tent ceiling before he sat her down and she glared up at him angrily.

"You're treating me like a child!" she accused and he looked at Kaoru as though trying to tell Mai to quiet her voice. The child shifted slightly before she calmed down and Naru watched as Mai's attention quickly turned to the child. He sighed softly before he turned away.

"Look, you don't get it, Mai. This is my job and you don't understand why you have to be careful." he left and Mai frowned. That hadn't made any sense at all. What did he mean she didn't understand? She knew that she had to be careful. He didn't have to tell her that! A shiver suddenly went down her spine and then she felt warmth on her cheeks.

'Tears?' she thought as she looked at her wet fingers before a name escaped her lips. A name that she had never heard before. "Gene." she put her hand to her mouth. Where had that come from? She didn't know a Gene, did she?

"Mai-chan?" Mai turned to look at Kaoru as the girl sat up and Mai gently brushed her hair back up. She was just glad that the girl was alive and she wasn't questioning why she was alive. She really didn't care because Kaoru was alive and that was all that mattered to her.

"It's alright, Kaoru." Mai said and the girl gave her a bright smile that could rival Mai's own smile.

"You asked me how I lived through the collapsing. Well…Mai I have a secret." Mai frowned as Kaoru stood up and walked to the chair. Mai realized she was going to bump in the chair and was about to tell Kaoru to watch out before her mouth dropped open as Kaoru walked right through it.

"Wh-what?" Mai asked and Kaoru gave her a kind smile that Mai recognized was not as innocent as she once thought. She could see wisdom in that smile and it was so odd to see a five year old give that type of smile. Mai wondered what was going on and the only thing that entered her mind made her go cold.

"It's simple, Mai-chan. My twin sister is Kohana. I'm a ghost, Mai-chan." Kaoru said before she heard a thump and she felt her face fall when she saw Mai had fainted and she felt warmth beside her and she turned to look at her twin who looked amused.

"That went well." Kohana said dryly. Kaoru shrugged before turning back to look at the unconscious Mai.

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I know I'm begging...but...please, REVIEW!!!


	9. Chapter 9

I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING!!

I should tell you that updates will be slow. I'm working on something else but I'm not giving up on this story! I promise I'm still working on this! Peace!

Oh, Naru and Mai say hi…they've been in his office for three hours…but I'm scared to go in there. You know how Naru is!

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Chapter 9 

Mai could hear voices calling her. She felt her eyes flutter before they opened and she was staring up into the concerned faces of the whole SPR team, minus Naru and plus Kaoru. Mai groaned and put her hand to her forehead as she slowly sat up. What happened? Then it all came rushing back and she shot a look at Kaoru who put a finger to her lips almost desperately. Mai gave her a small smile and a small nod that no one noticed.

"Mai, what happened? Kaoru came and got us and said that you had fainted." Ayako demanded and Mai gave a small smile.

"I guess I must have hit my head when the building collapsed. One minute Kaoru's telling me all the things she learnt in Math class and the next I'm waking up to find you people over me." Mai lied and she noticed that Naru was standing by the doorway with Naru eyes and she knew. She knew that he knew that she had just lied. Naru was the only person that could tell when she lied and she begged with him silently that he keep his mouth shut.

"If that's the case then we should let Mai rest." Naru said and Mai gulped. She watched as the rest of the team nodded and left leaving her, Kaoru, and Naru alone in the tent. Mai realized that the candles were lit and as the door closed behind Lin, the last person to leave, she saw that it was already nighttime. She wondered how long she had been out and the wondered if she really wanted to know.

"Why did you lie? And don't say you didn't lie. For one thing, Kaoru doesn't go to Math class…she isn't in school." Naru asked and Mai was about to answer before Kaoru interrupted and she looked at the child surprised.

"She lied for me, Mr. Tea-man. I told her a really big secret and she fainted because of it." Kaoru said and Naru remained silent. Kaoru knew what that meant. He wanted to know what secret that she had was so great that it would make Mai faint.

"You met Kohana-nee-san." she saw his eyes widen slightly at the suffix that she had used. "She's my older twin sister and…we were both killed by the former orphanage owner nearly sixty years ago." she said and she heard Mai choke and she whirled around to look at her friend.

"You're sixty years old?!" Mai cried. She had known that Kaoru had to be dead since she was able to walk through the chair but she hadn't though that Kaoru had been dead for nearly sixty years! Mai felt dizzy and decided that her best option was to lie back down and she stared up at the tent ceiling.

"If you're dead then how are you solid?" Naru asked as he sat down in the chair and Kaoru climbed into the one across form him.

"I don't know. One day my sister and I were playing in the garden. I felt something really hard hit me in the back of the head and next thing I know I'm standing in the forest watching Mr. and Mrs. Hans bury my sister and my body! I asked them why they did it and they turned around and looked at me all scared. They called me a devil child and I told them they were murderers. They ran as fast as they could but they didn't watch where they were going and ran into a thing of quicksand.

"I was solid, I could touch the trees and everything and I just stood there and watched them die. I didn't know that I was dead until one day I realized that I wasn't aging. That's when Kohana showed up. About thirty years after our deaths the new owners tried to find our bodies because they knew that the previous owners had killed children. Whenever they got close to our graves one of them got hurt.

"We immediately knew it was our murderers' ghosts. So since Martia got the orphanage I've always done something to keep people away from our graves. Like the broken ankle." Kaoru explained and Naru nodded as understanding began to dawn on him.

"What happens if your bodies are found?" a soft voice spoke up and Naru turned to see that Mai was sitting up and she looked healthy enough although he would have preferred it if she got a little more color on her cheeks. She was pale enough as it was and he debated on whether or not he should tell Ayako that he thought she was getting a cold.

"I guess we can move on…I don't know." Kaoru said softly and Mai nodded. She wasn't so sure if she wanted to solve the case anymore. If they did then Kaoru would disappear forever. And Mai had grown attached to the girl. Mai almost thought of her as her own and she didn't want to let go.

"Mai, Naru, Kaoru, we need to get to the vehicles. It's getting dark. Lin-san said that we could come back in the morning." Ayako said as she stuck her head in the tent. The three occupants stood up together and left quietly. Mai couldn't think straight as she climbed into the van with Naru and Lin crowded in as well.

"What about the other children?" Mai asked and she heard Lin clear his throat and she felt her eyes widen as Takigawa drove by with his whole car full of children, Ayako's and John's car was the same way. Mai looked down at Kaoru who giggled at the sight. Mai shook her head before wrapping her arms around Kaoru as the child snuggled up against her.

"Madoka wants you to call her tomorrow, Mai." Lin said as he followed Takigawa who was following Ayako to her parents' former house. Mai just nodded as she held onto the sleeping Kaoru.

Naru noticed the way she was holding Kaoru protectively. He knew that Mai would break once they freed Kaoru and the rest of the ghostly children from the remains of the orphanage. He wished that Mai didn't become attached to children so easily. If she wasn't then it might have been easy to help the ghosts without worrying about what would happen to Mai once they disappeared.

"And Ayako was complaining that Mai grew up in a big house?" Lin commented as they finally reached the house. It was a huge Victorian manor that Naru would estimate had been built in the Feudal Era. He waited until the van stopped and he realized that Mai had fallen asleep as well. He sighed before catching Lin's hand as he reached to take Mai.

Naru carefully picked Mai up and waited until Lin had picked up the sleeping Kaoru. Naru followed Ayako into the house. He took Mai to the room that Ayako motioned for him to take her to. He went back outside and helped the rest of the SPR team carry the sleeping orphans inside. It took thirty minutes to get all the children inside but everyone was thankful when they were done.

Naru's phone began to vibrate. He went to a secluded area and answered the phone to find that Madoka was the one that had been calling him. They exchanged greetings and he waited for her to say something that would hint at why Madoka was calling him from England.

"It brings back memories doesn't it?" Madoka asked and Naru frowned as Madoka's meaning became clear quiet suddenly.

"Madoka, I would prefer-" he was cut off by Madoka's angry voice.

"I don't care what you prefer! You know I would think that you would have gotten that wake up call at some point during the time that Mai wasn't breathing. Or did you forget that she almost died. Did you forget the feeling you had when Gene died?" Madoka said and Naru felt his eyes widen at the attack.

"I wasn't aware of what Gene was capable of." Naru said before he hung up and turned his phone off. The last thing he needed or wanted was to have Madoka yelling at him over something that he had had no control over.

"You really aren't that different from me, are you, Mr. Tea-man?" Naru turned to see that Kaoru was looking at him and he sighed before sitting down on the floor and she went over and curled up by his side.

"What makes you say that?" he let his walls down when he was around Kaoru. Maybe it was because even with the walls erected she could see right through them. He didn't understand out she could see right through him after having known him a total of two days but she could.

"You lost your older brother and I lost my older sister." Kaoru whispered and Naru jerked slightly. He hadn't told the child about Gene. The only person that he knew that was aware of Gene was Lin. He knew Lin wouldn't have told Kaoru about Gene and he also knew that Lin hadn't had any time alone with Kaoru.

"How do you know about my brother?" he asked and he heard Kaoru giggle before she snuggled even more under his arm and he looked down at her with _that_ look and she giggled again before she finally answered.

"Well he's dead, I'm dead. We have something in common. That and the fact that I met him." he looked at her sharply and she shrugged. "When the windows exploded I fell into the astral plane. I met Mai and Gene there. I acted like he was you because Mai thought he was just a nicer version of you. I have to admit it had me confused as well until he smiled at me.

"When your big brother smiles his eyes turn grey. When you smile your eyes stay blue. I'm sure Mai-chan has noticed that before." Kaoru said with a bright smile and Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you stay? It would have been extremely easy for you to move on if you hadn't returned." Naru said and Kaoru frowned and she thought hard about the question before her mouth relaxed into a small line.

"Because I couldn't abandon Kohana. I just couldn't. Just like you couldn't leave Gene here in Japan." Kaoru said and Naru jerked back as though he had been shot. He had been surprised at the fact that Kaoru knew about Gene but how did she know about the fact that he had traveled to Japan to find Gene.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Kaoru?" he asked and she smiled before she stood up and he was surprised when she kissed him on the forehead before she gave him a brighter smile.

"Something I learned is that you need to hold onto what you've got even tighter once you've lost something." she said before disappearing. He frowned before he stood up and headed towards his room which he had to pass Mai's room to get to. He cracked the door open and peered inside. He quietly and entered and found himself standing over the sleeping Mai.

Her breathing was even and reassured him that she in a regular sleep and not one of her 'Gene dreams' as he decided to dub them. He was still upset that his brother had almost killed Mai! Didn't Gene realize the consequences? Naru shook his head. Of course Gene knew the consequences. That's why he had done it. That's why he had tried to take Mai away.

"I get it, Gene. I finally get it." Naru whispered to himself before Mai's eyes fluttered open and he stood there shocked. She gave him a bright smile before her eyes slipped back closed and he sighed. He turned and left the room. Even if he did get it…he couldn't act on it.

* * *

Mai was in the kitchen finishing packing the sandwiches for everyone to take back out to the orphanage. She had volunteered to stay with the orphans and take care of them with Martia. She looked up as she heard someone enter the kitchen and she felt her cheeks redden as she saw that it was Naru. 

"Are you almost done packing?" he asked and she held back a sigh. Of course he was impatient to get to the sight. He no doubt wanted to try and find some of his equipment. If there was one thing that she knew Naru hated doing it was arguing with insurance companies. Because they usually didn't believe him when he said that a house had collapsed on his pretty 15,000 dollar camera. She probably wouldn't believe her either if the house hadn't fallen on _her_ as well.

"Yep!" she answered cheerfully. She barely hid her surprise when he moved over to where he was standing beside her and helped her finish packing before she closed the top of the picnic basket. She reached to pick it up and gasped as Naru had also reached for it and their hands brushed against the other's. Her eyes shot up to his and she gulped.

She watched as his other hand reached up and brushed her cheek. Her heart began to beat faster as he leaned towards her and she knew what was going to happen, she even prayed for it before he stopped and closed his eyes as though he were in pain. She watched and felt her heart crack as he pulled away from her.

"We can't do this. It's wrong." he whispered and Mai felt her temper flare up. There was his damn control!

"Let it go! Why can't you just let that damned control go?!" she snapped at him and she saw Naru's eyes narrow angrily.

"I can't lose control! It's…dangerous if I do!" he snarled at her and Mai shook her head as though she were denying the fact.

"You're wrong! You are wrong! Don't you get it, Naru? It isn't wrong to let loose every once in a while!" she screamed before suddenly Naru's hands were on her upper arms in a bruising grip and she looked up at his eyes that seemed to have grown even more icy.

"Mai, you don't get it! My control has started slipping the minute I met you and if I don't keep it in check…" he trailed off and Mai managed to hit him in the chest with her fists as she glared up at him.

"I DON'T CARE!!! Humans aren't robots and you can't always be in control!!" she screamed at him before she froze as his eyes went blank quickly. She felt something in the air before suddenly something flew from the shelves and hit the wall by her head and her attention was drawn to the broken cup on the floor and she looked back up at Naru who had closed his eyes before he pushed her away roughly.

"You should care." he whispered. "Ayako's waiting for the basket." he turned on his heel and left the room and Mai watched him go before she bent down by the broken cup and began to pick the pieces up not noticing how they cut her hands.

"Davis." Mai dropped the pieces that she held in her hands and put her hands over her mouth. She could feel how wide her eyes were. 'What's going on? Why am I saying names that I don't even know?' she thought before she stood up and ran out of the room while forgetting that she was supposed to take the basket to Ayako.

Blue eyes watched her. Naru put a hand over his face. He hadn't meant to loose control. But with Mai telling him to it made it even harder to keep a lock on his powers. He had wanted to scare her but if that cup had been any closer it would have hit her and undoubtedly hurt her.

'_Idiot scientist_.' Gene's voice echoed in his head and Naru sighed softly before he headed towards the main door of Ayako's mansion.

'I'm going to agree with you on this one.' as they worked through the day looking for equipment everyone noticed that Naru seemed to be preoccupied. No one dared to approach the subject except Kaoru, who snuck into Ayako's car, and when she was safely inside said car.

"I bet Mai-chan kissed Mr. Tea-man for good luck!!" she squealed before she slammed the door shut and Ayako took off leaving a gaping Takigawa, a surprised Lin, and a scowling Naru that looked as though he wanted to skin someone alive. Someone that Takigawa decided should be Lin.

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Remember to REVIEW!!!! Loves! 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Mai kept on a happy face for the orphans. She didn't want to worry the children as they seemed to have a sixth sense tuned into when people were sad or upset. And Mai was currently both. She was still shaking from the tea cup incident and she didn't know how to cope with it. She wasn't exactly sure what Naru had done but she knew that never wanted to see him like that again.

"Mai-chan, let's play dress up! Ayako said we could play dress up in the kimonos!" one of the children cried. Mai laughed before she allowed herself to be pulled up into the attic where the kimonos were stored. There were about five little girls that wanted to play. John had volunteered to stay behind with Mai so he was taking care of the children that had opted to go outside and play baseball. Mai was grateful that he had stayed behind and she was slightly shocked to find that Masako had stayed behind as well and was outside with John, in normal clothes, playing as well.

"Mai-chan, here's one that'll fit you!" Marissa, another orphan that was about eight, cried as she pulled out a pale blue kimono with silver flowers on it. The obi that tied around the waist was a deep purple that off-set the lighter colors perfectly.

"I don't think I'll play." Mai tried to say. She didn't want to put the fragile looking kimono on and have it rip. She didn't think she would be able to pay Ayako's parents back. Marissa looked slightly upset that Mai sighed. She couldn't deny the puppy dog look that all the children were giving her. She finally gave in and said that she would play the dress up game with them. She took the kimono gently and went to her room to change.

She tied the obi and took a look at herself in the mirror. She stuck her tongue out at her reflection. She never thought she looked good in kimonos. She thought that they made her look short not to mention fat. She thought she was short enough as it was and she didn't want to just prove it by wearing something that made her look even shorter than she already looked. She rolled her eyes before she turned away from the mirror and tightened the obi to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

She felt a shiver go down her spine and she froze. She stood still before her eyes went blank and Mai went unconscious even though her body was still awake. She blinked before looking down at her hands and then back at the mirror. But instead of being Mai that was reflected back there was a girl not much younger than Mai. Her hair was black and fell down her back and she was in an old Japanese girl school uniform. The girl blinked before she turned as an older woman stepped through the wall of Mai's bedroom.

"Good job on possessing her, Lilia. I'm proud of you. To bad poor little Kohana and Kaoru didn't realize that we could pull the same tricks they can." the woman said with a bright smirk.

"Ms. Kari, may I leave Mai's body before you kill her? I don't want to feel death again." Lilia asked softly and the ghost nodded as the smirk stayed on place before she went to the door and Mai's possessed body opened it for her.

"Naru, Naru, can you find...sweet little Mai...just in time?" Kari sang before she floated out and Mai followed her as though she were on strings. Lilia knew that as long as Mai died their secret would be fine. No one would know what Kari had done and the living would once again be alright.

* * *

Kaoru knew the moment she entered Ayako's house that they were there. It wasn't that hard to sense their spirits. What she didn't understand was how they were there. They should have been trapped to their burial grounds. Fear gripped the ghost child when some of her friends came crying to Martia saying that Mai had disappeared and they had looked everywhere for the teenage girl.

Kaoru ran as fast as she could to Mai's room and when she stepped inside she fell to the floor as Kari's presence almost suffocated her. She knew rather suddenly what was happening. She screamed as loudly as her still child like lungs could and then she felt strong arms gathering her up against a chest dressed in black and she knew it was Naru.

"Kaoru?" he asked and she whimpered as she wrapped her arms around the man's neck. The last thing that she wanted to do was worry him. She knew that if she told him about what she knew had happened to Mai then he would be off searching for her in an instance. Kaoru knew that time was on her side and she knew that she had to tell him no matter how angry he got.

"Ms. Kari and her daughter, Lilia, have taken Mai! They're going to kill her for getting so close to the truth!" Kaoru cried as Naru set her down on Mai's bed. She saw him stiffen at her announcement before he looked at her with icy eyes that she knew were not meant for her but meant for the ones that had murdered her and the ones that were going to try and take Mai's life as well.

"Do you know how to get to Mai?" he asked and she shook her head as tears began to well. She wished that she knew but she was still a child that had never explored her powers as a ghost. For the past sixty years she had been stuck as a five year old and hadn't done anything to change that. And now that the one person she thought of as her mother was in danger she didn't know what to do.

Naru watched as the child cried and he didn't know what to do. Mai was the one that was so good with children. He had little to no knowledge of children. Other than the fact that he and Gene had been children. That was what he knew about kids and crying kids. How was he supposed to comfort her? He sighed, well there was one way he could find out.

"Give me something of Mai's that she had on before we left." he asked. The other children had said that Mai had changed into a kimono to play with them. And since he didn't see a kimono lying around he was going to assume that Mai had donned the garment. Naru was curious to see how she looked in a kimono. He shook his head, he had more important things to worry about.

"She was wearing this ribbon in her hair." Kaoru sniffled as she held out the white piece of cloth. Naru closed his eyes and took a deep breath before focusing on the ribbon as he reached out and took the cloth. He saw everything through Mai's eyes. The changing into the kimono and the sudden chill that went down her spine. Then suddenly Mai's presence disappeared and there was a woman in front of her talking about killing her and how stupid Kaoru and Kohana were. Mai followed the ghost out and down into the basement in what looked like a tea room.

Naru retracted his hands and kept his eyes closed for another moment before opening them. He needed to speak with Ayako as soon as humanly possible.

* * *

"A tea room? In the basement? How did you know about that?" Ayako asked startled at Naru's question. The man gave her a look that clearly told her that she wasn't going to answer that. "No, we didn't check it. I didn't think Mai would be there. After all my mother and father told me it was there when I was seventeen. Apparently the family that they bought the land from liked to visit them and they liked tea parties. That room hasn't been used since I left to train at the temple."

"That's where the ghosts are keeping Mai-chan." Kaoru whispered sadly and Masako hugged the young girl as she sat by her. Masako looked straight into Naru's eyes and gave a sad yet true smile.

"I really thought that I loved you. I was so jealous of Mai but not anymore. If anything she's become the one friend I can depend on. So please, even though you don't love me, care for her. She's the best thing you've got and your brother knows that." Masako whispered and she saw Naru's eyes widen.

"How did you?" he asked and she shook her head.

"I communicated with him once…when I was taken by the demon. He told me. So please, he doesn't want to see what sanity you have left destroyed because you lost her as well." she whispered softly and Naru just nodded before turning to Ayako.

"Show me where the tea room is." he whispered. She nodded and led him down into the basement where a shoji door was. Everyone could see a silhouette inside and someone moving around. Ayako carefully slid the door opened and everyone froze as a ghostly apparition held a knife that was lodged into Mai's right shoulder. Naru felt his eyes widen as he saw the blood staining the kimono that Mai was wearing.

"MAI!" Ayako screamed and the ghost looked up with a smirk before gasping as Mai slapped her hand away and pulled the knife out.

"Leave me alone!!" she cried before gasping as the woman slapped her and she fell to the floor. Naru could feel his control snapping.

"The ghost that was possessing Mai is gone!" Ayako cried and there was a scream that came from upstairs. She looked at Naru, who had asked Lin to stay behind for some reason, and saw him nod.

"Go." was the only word he said before she rushed back up the stairs and he stepped inside the Japan style room and stared down the ghost and his attention was drawn to Mai as she moved at the floor and finally sat up clutching at her bleeding shoulder. He realized that he needed to get her out of there quickly. Sadly he didn't get the chance because when she pulled her hand away he saw that her whole shoulder and hand was stained as were her hands. His control snapped.

His eyes went an icy blank and Mai felt that same atmosphere from before with the teacup pressing down on her. She looked up and saw that Naru had that same looked on his face only much worse. She screamed as the table lifted up by itself and crashed into the wall. The ghost seemed unperturbed by the flying objects that were picking up momentum in the room. Mai felt tears in her eyes before she stood up and made her way to the obviously angry Naru.

"Naru. Naru, stop it! Please! I'm alright, I'm alive." Mai tried to coax him but he was to far gone to hear her. Mai blamed herself silently for telling him that control didn't matter. She could see now why it did matter. Why he was so stubborn to reveal his feelings at all. So she did the only thing that she could think of. She slugged him. Later she would realize how ridiculous she looked slugging Naru in a kimono but at the moment she didn't care, it had the desired effect.

Naru blinked before touching his sore jaw. He looked up at Mai with confused eyes. Where had the girl learned to punch like that?! He didn't even know that Mai knew how to punch. And certainly not that hard.

"I grew up with a bunch of boys." she explained as she knelt beside him before she frowned as he shook his head. She saw that his eyes were drooping and she knew what was going to happen. He had used a lot off energy. She squeaked as he suddenly fell forward and into her chest. Her face turned bright red as he used it as a pillow.

"You…hentai!!" she cried. Whether she loved him or not she really didn't want him using her chest as a pillow. She tried to push him off but she had not noticed that he had wrapped his arms around her waist as she knelt on the floor. She growled. 'Pervert! Hentai! You are so dead when you wake up!'

"Aw…how sweet. You get to die together." Mai's head shot up. She forgot that there was an angry ghost watching them amusedly. That's when she saw the knife had returned to Kari's hand. Mai covered Naru with her body.

"LEAVE US ALONE!!" she screamed into Naru's neck. She waited for the knife to pierce her skin but it never came. She felt the room temperature drop rapidly and she lowly raised her head up to find herself face to face with the bloody knife. She followed the metal up with her eyes to the handle and the hand that was holding it. That was when she noticed the hand holding Kari's wrist.

She followed the hand up and past the dark sleeve that covered her savior's arm and she looked up at his face and her eyes went wide as she met blue eyes that she knew better than anyone else. Naru's eyes. She could feel her eyes widen before she looked down at the man that she held in her arms.

"What's going on?" she whispered softly as she looked at both of the Narus. She decided that she had finally gone crazy. Completely and utterly crazy.

"Get out!" another voice snapped. Mai's attention turned to the ghost that was standing behind Kari. "DIE!!" Mai screamed as the tea table lifted from where it had landed when Naru had regained his senses and it flew towards her from an angle that the other Naru wouldn't be able to stop it.

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Okay, I haven't had a cliff hanger this good in a long time. I'm happy. So please review after you've read! The rating change will be coming soon, maybe after the next chapter. So, we'll have to see what happens later! Bye! And review!


	11. Chapter 11

Before anyone says anything about this being short, I know! But sadly this is all you'll get for at least two weeks. My Rurouni Kenshin fic that I'm working on is being contrary and this one is slowing down. But I hope this can keep you all happy until I get back from vacation! Orlando, here I come! Oh, and review!!

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Chapter 11

Mai gasped as suddenly she and Naru were on the floor and when she looked up there was Kohana staring at the other ghost beside Kari. Mai felt fear flowing through her as the other Naru knelt down in front of her. Her eyes widened as she realized that she could see through the Naru that was kneeling between her and the other ghosts.

"Wh-what's going on?" she whispered and Naru gave her a gentle smile that was very familiar. Then her eyes went wide. He was the one that was in her dreams. She began to shake as she saw the understanding in dream Naru's eyes.

"My name is Gene." he whispered before suddenly he looked over his shoulder as Kohana screamed as Kari grabbed her arm and she struggled against the larger woman. Mai watched as Kohana did her best to fight off the old woman.

"It's Lilia! She's the one!! She's the first one that was killed!! SHE'S THE CATALYST!!! SAVE HER!!!" Kohana screamed as she Kari disappeared and Mai's eyes went wide as she gasped. She looked at the other Naru who was watching the other girl with wary eyes. Mai knew what she had to do. She gently laid the unconscious Naru on the floor.

"You don't remember what it's like." Mai whispered and the girl jerked back slightly as Mai began to approach. Mai was forced to stop as Gene grabbed her wrist and she looked down at the Naru look-a-like. She gave a small smile before she shook her head and pulled her wrist away gently and headed towards the ghost.

"You don't remember what it's like to live." Mai continued and Lilia's head dropped slightly before she nodded. "What's your name?"

"Lilia." the ghost whispered and Mai let a smile cross her lips as she continued to approach the ghost girl that was feeling very nervous.

"That's a pretty name. You're about fifteen aren't you?" the ghost nodded obviously pleased over the fact that Mai had guessed her age correctly. Mai gave another smile as she stood in front of the girl.

"Hai." she replied. Mai took a deep breath before she asked the one question that Masako had told her a ghost would never answer. But somehow she knew that Lilia would tell her after Kohana's plea to Mai to save Lilia. Mai knew that Masako was more likely to do a better job but Mai knew she couldn't leave Lilia there.

"How did you die?" Mai asked softly and Lilia jerked back again before she looked back at Mai and she managed to give Mai a gentle smile.

"I came home one day and no one was home. I went up the stairs to put my school supplies up and when I got to the top step I tripped and fell back down the steps and something…something snapped. Before I knew it I was looking at my body at the bottom of the steps. Ms. Kari found my body and she and her husband dragged me out into the forest and buried me.

"Kohana found my grave. She didn't realize it but she had found my grave and Ms. Kari knew that she had found the grave. So she killed Kohana and Kaoru because Kaoru had seen Kohana's death. When Kaoru accidentally killed Ms. Kari and her husband…the husband moved on but Ms. Kari didn't move on.

"She told me we had to stop everyone from finding out about our deaths because they would try to get rid of us. She said that we would never see any of our family and she told me that the only way to pass on was to stop people from finding us. I believed her." Lilia replied and Mai nodded as she tried to understand what Lilia was telling her but she really didn't understand. She didn't understand how someone could kill children just because they found a grave.

"And you've become so blinded by Ms. Kari's anger that you've forgotten what it's like to live." Mai whispered and Lilia nodded as tears began to fall. Mai reached out and was slightly surprised to find that she could hold Lilia's hand and she gently put the dead girl's hand over her heart.

"This is what a heartbeat feels like. Do you remember?" Mai whispered. She saw Lilia's eyes widen in surprise before a smile spread across her face.

"I want to go home." Lilia whispered. Mai nodded before she wrapped her arms around the ghost and held her as gently as she could as the ghost girl cried even harder on Mai's shoulder. Mai rocked her gently.

"Then go." Mai whispered softly and she felt the girl beginning to slip from her arms and Mai waited until she was completely gone and Mai felt tears rolling her cheeks and she fell to the floor before everything went black as she laid on the floor.

Gene studied Mai before he turned to look at his unconscious brother and he sighed before shaking his head as a gentle smile spread across his face. They were cut from the same cloth, that was for sure, both trying to protect the other even though it put them in harm's way. Gene knelt down beside his replica and patted him on the head. He could imagine Naru's reaction when he patted him.

"Take care of her, you idiot. You know I hate punching people." he whispered in his younger brother's ears before his connection with the real world disappeared and he faded away.

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Kaoru felt funny when Takigawa and Lin placed Mai and Lin on the couches in Ayako's living room. She knew Naru would be okay but Mai looked so pale and fragile. Kaoru didn't know a person that was alive could look so pale. But Mai was able to do that and Kaoru had no idea how. Even Kohana seemed to be puzzled.

"Kaoru, it's almost time for us to leave. Our ties to this world are disappearing." Kohana said to her younger sister and Kaoru nodded before she went to the end table and wrote a note and putting it in Mai's hand before a tingling feeling spread through out her body and she looked at Kohana's who's eyes were lighting up.

"Well get to see mommy and daddy again." Kohana said brightly and Kaoru nodded but tears still rolled down her cheeks as she looked at Mai and she gave a bright smile as she tried to touch Mai's head but her hand went through.

"Bye, Mai-nee-chan! I'll miss you!" Kaoru said before she disappeared from sight in a burst of light.

Nearly half an hour later Mai began to stir to consciousness. She sat up and stretched before she looked down at her lap and saw that a white piece of paper had fallen into her lap. She blinked before she carefully unfolded it and her eyes went wide as she read what Kaoru wrote.

_Thank you so much, Mai-chan. Now we can go home to where our mommies and daddies are waiting for us. You saved us. I'll miss you and Mr. Tea-man. I love you!_

_Kaoru_

Mai blinked back the tears that were stinging her eyes. She wouldn't cry. She had promised herself that she wouldn't cry. She had known that Kaoru would disappear once they were done. She had known that it would hurt and she had decided that if she didn't cry then it meant it wasn't real. But Kaoru's letter was proving that was wrong. The ghost child that Mai had grown so close to was gone and her heart was ripping itself to shreds.

"She's fine." a cool voice said and Mai looked up to find Naru sitting on the chair and she blinked back tears before he stood up and she saw that he held a first aid kit. She frowned as he sat down beside her and she squealed as he tried to pull the kimono apart at the top.

"What are you doing?!" she cried. She could feel her face turning extremely red as he tried to pull the kimono off her upper half.

"Your shoulder is still hurt. I'm just trying to bandage it so could you be still for a minute?" he snapped and Mai froze. She felt her face flaming as he managed to get the shoulder of her kimono off while revealing her bra and injured shoulder to him. She winced as he began to clean the wound and bandage it.

"Alright, you should get your doctor to call in antibiotics. I doubt it'll get infected but it's better to be safe than sorry." Mai watched as Naru stood up and put the first aid kit on the coffee table. She took a deep breath before she asked the one thing that she thought that maybe only Naru could know the answer to.

"Um, Naru…I need to ask you something." Naru turned to look at his assistant as she pulled the shoulder of her kimono back over her bare skin. Naru frowned before he shook his head and turned away from Mai so that his control wouldn't crack. His jaw still hurt from her punch and he could imagine the bruise that would be forming over the next few weeks.

"What is it?" he asked in his cold voice as he tried to hide his emotions. What he wanted to do was kiss her senseless and make sure she would never think about another guy again.

"Who's…Gene Davis?"

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Once again I am so sorry for making this shorter than normal but I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review! Intense kiss scene will be in the next chapter and the rating will go up! 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Why do you want to know?" he snapped. How did Mai know about Gene?! He had never mentioned his brother and he was pretty sure that Lin hadn't said anything about his brother. Mai was looking at him and he could tell that she was expecting an answer but how was he supposed to tell her how much pain the name she had just uttered caused him? How was he supposed to tell her that he saw his brother's death through Gene's eyes?

"I…I don't know. There are times when I'm off guard and… the name just slipped out." she whispered softly. She looked down at her knees with her arms wrapped around her waist as she shook. She waited in silence as she felt Naru's eyes boring into her and she refused to look up to meet those eyes that she knew very well.

"Eugene Davis…was killed in a hit-and-run accident nearly a year ago. His brother, Oliver Davis, was the one that informed his family that he had been killed." Naru saw Mai's eyes widen as she recognized Oliver Davis's name. He wondered what her reaction would be if, and when, she found out that _he _was Oliver Davis.

"He was a medium, wasn't he?" she whispered as she looked up and Naru took a step back. Her eyes were so clear that Naru realized she knew very well what she was talking about. He just nodded and she smiled almost as though she were relieved.

"You know…the nickname for Oliver is 'Noll' and 'Naru' is almost like a heavily accented Japanese version." she suddenly whispered and Naru stopped himself from taking a step back. It felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. She was looking at him almost expectantly before she stood up and went over to the table near the door of the living room.

"Martia thought she recognized you. She found this in one of her friend's record books." Mai whispered as she handed the picture to Naru. He almost dropped it. Staring up at him were two little boys that were identical twins with black hair and blue eyes. He flipped the picture and saw two names written on the back. 'Eugene and Oliver Davis.' He could feel his breathing shorten as he continued to stare at the picture.

"She showed me the picture before you all went back to the orphanage. At first I just thought it was coincidence…after all…everyone is supposed to be a doppelganger. I just thought you had two." Mai gave Naru a guarded smile. She stood there waiting and somewhere deep inside she hoped that he would deny it but she also knew that he wouldn't be able to.

"He died when we were fifteen." he said suddenly as she had turned towards the door and readied herself to leave until he had suddenly spoken. "He was thrilled to go to Japan and wanted so much to look for our parents after he had helped the family that he had promised to help.

"Neither of us knew what had happened to our parents. He was too curious for his own good." Naru said angrily. Mai went up and stood in front of him and forcing him to meet her brown eyes.

"So you are Oliver Davis." she whispered and he nodded and it felt as though something was lifting off of his heart. Something heavy that he hadn't even known that he was carrying around. He looked into her eyes and managed a nod. She gave a small smile before reaching out and squeezing his hand.

"I hope you find his body." she whispered before she did turn away and left the room. He stared down at the picture before tucking it into the pocket of his jacket. He followed Mai out and saw her heading up the stairs. He moved after her quickly and grabbed her hand and she turned to look at him surprised.

"Mai…I'm tired of living in the past." he told her and she blinked before an understanding smile spread across her face and she nodded.

"Then I'll teach you how to live in the present. As soon as I get out of this kimono." she laughed and he nodded but there wasn't a smile on his face. She supposed that would be her first task. To get Naru to smile. She darted into her room with a bright smile on her face.

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"Bye, Martia. I'm going to miss you. Call me whenever, alright?" she told the older woman and Martia nodded. Mai hugged her one last time before she went around to the back of the van where Naru was putting the rest of the equipment that they had managed to salvage from the original sight. Mai helped him and he looked at her surprised. She smiled at him.

"Can you possibly give me a hint on how to get those things you call lips to stretch into a smile?" she asked cheerfully and she saw his eyebrows shoot up before he shook his head and that normal smirk spread across his lips.

"What do you think would make me smile?" he asked and Mai blinked before she sat down in the back of the van as she thought. She looked up as Naru's shadow fell down on her and she reached up slowly and grabbed his shirt. She pulled him down so that their face was level and she studied his dark blue eyes before she leaned forward slowly and met his lips in a gentle kiss.

Naru swayed forward slightly and put his hands beside her thighs to steady himself so that he would fall. He quickly took control of the kiss as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip and her mouth opened inviting him in. He groaned before she wrapped her arms around his neck. Slowly, very slowly, her legs parted and he moved in between them allowing them to get closer before they pulled apart breathing heavily. He pushed her down so that they were lying in the back of the van, hidden from prying eyes and he leaned down for another kiss.

Mai groaned as his hands found their way up her shirt and settled on her stomach and she jerked slightly at the feel of his fingers and she felt his stiffen at the contact of her hips against his and he pulled away from her lips and she opened her eyes to look up at him curiously.

"This is not exactly the best place for us to be doing this." he told her as he moved away from her and sat up so that he was leaning against the van wall. She slowly sat up as well and patted her skirt down so that it was going the right direction and she also pulled her shirt back down where he had pushed it up.

"Then…where would you suggest?" she asked softly and he smirked before he reached out and pulled her close to him.

"My office." he whispered and her eyes widened before she watched him climb out of the van before he turned and winked at her. She climbed out of the van and watched him as they finished packing things and she wondered if she'd ever get him to smile.

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2 MONTHS LATER

Mai poured the tea into the cup and put the small cup on the saucer. She gave a small sigh before carefully taking the tea into Naru's office where he was on the phone arguing with what Mai knew to be his mother.

"Yes, mother. Mother…I gave her the day of her birthday off! Mother. Well, Madoka lied. Mother, I promise you…when you come in, Mai will be here. You can meet her then. Mother, I'm hanging up. Good-bye. Send father my love. Mother. Quit crying. Good-bye." Naru slammed the phone down and Mai shook her head before gently stroking her boss's forehead.

"Why, oh why did she decide to come and visit?" he asked softly and Mai shook her head again before leaning over and kissing him on the forehead where her fingers had been only seconds ago.

"I'm sure she is a lovely woman, Naru. You're exaggerating." Mai told him and Naru shook his head.

"Ask Gene if I'm exaggerating next time you see him." he told her and Mai laughed before she stood up and took his old tea cup out and he followed her, the new cup that she had brought ignored in the light of his problem with his mother coming to visit.

"Now, Naru, you have to be nice. This is your mother. Be polite if nothing else." Mai ordered and Naru huffed angrily and she giggled before going over and wrapping her arms around his neck and his lips turned up a fraction.

"Only for you." he told her and she smiled brightly before she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him fully on the mouth and when she pulled away he had a smile on his face. The smile that she had sworn to herself and him that she would get out of him. She could get the smile whenever she wanted but that wasn't why she got the smile. She got the smile because she liked doing the task that seduced it out of hiding.

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I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!!! My life has been so hectic lately. Now, this is the last chapter for this story, so please review. Also...I would like to request once again ideas. I'm in a terrible writer's block. I'll write something down and it'll sound so awkward. So ideas would be great. You can email me them, Private Message me or even leaving it in a review would be great! This chapter was for everyone out there that hadn't given up.


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